Cryptographics: Exploiting Graphics Cards for Security

Software that covertly monitors user actions, also known as spyware, has become a first-level security threat due to its ubiquity and the difficulty of detecting and removing it. This is especially so for video conferencing, thin-client computing (computers that depend primarily on a central server for processing activities) and Internet cafes. CryptoGraphics explores the potential for implementing ciphers within graphics processing units (GPUs). A prototype application involving streaming video and GPU-based encryption and decryption is also described, illustrating the benefits and issues of running a cipher within a GPU. By enabling encryption and decryption in a GPU, unencrypted display data can be confined to the GPU to avoid exposing it to any malware running on the operating system.