intel trusted execution technology ( intel txt , formerly known as lagrande technology ) is a computer hardware technology whose primary goals are : attestation of the authenticity of a platform and its operating system .

assuring that an authentic operating system starts in a trusted environment , which can then be considered trusted .

providing of a trusted operating system with additional security capabilities not available to an unproven one .

intel txt uses a trusted platform module ( tpm ) and cryptographic techniques to provide measurements of software and platform components so that system software as well as local and remote management applications may use those measurements to make trust decisions .

this technology is based on an industry initiative by the trusted computing group ( tcg ) to promote safer computing .

it defends against software-based attacks aimed at stealing sensitive information by corrupting system or bios code , or modifying the platform 's configuration .

trusted execution technology

trusted execution technology . in : intel® trusted execution technology for server platforms . apress , berkeley , ca
is execute bit and intel® trusted execution technology ( intel® txt ) basically the same thing ? i mean to ask if intel® trusted execution technology ( intel® txt ) is some kind of advance version of execute bit technology .
security researchers joanna rutkowska and colleague rafal wojtczuk , discovered new intel bugs that would allow attackers to bypass intel trusted execution technology .
intel® trusted execution technology server platform availability matrix - this list will help you to determine which platforms and operating environments support intel txt .
arm security technology building a secure system using trustzone technology : 5 . 2 . 2 . secure boot
bill attack on the xen hypervisor , two researchers have demonstrated how to bypass the chip - maker giant ' s trusted execution technology ( txt ) , a core security around its vpro technology .
formerly known as lagrande technology , trusted execution technology is a set of hardware extensions on intel processors and chipsets . it ensures that all aspects of the computer run in a
trusted
space , by cryptographically verifying the authenticity of all hardware and operating system software .
trusted execution technology
is much more than just a cpu feature , it has to be integrated into the chipset and bios as well . see the documents available at : urltoken
intel trusted execution technology ( intel txt ) is the name of a computer hardware technology whose primary goals are ( a ) attestation – attest to the authenticity of a platform and its operating system ( os ) ; ( b ) assure that an authentic os starts in a trusted environment and thus can be considered a trusted os ; ( c ) provide the trusted os with additional security capabilities not available to an unproven os .
this book explains intel trusted execution technology for servers , its purpose , application , advantages , and limitations and guides the server administrator / datacenter manager in enabling the technology as well as establishing a launch control policy that can be used to customize the server’s boot process to fit the datacenter’s requirements .
trusted boot ( tboot ) is an open source , pre - kernel / vmm module that uses intel ( r ) trusted execution technology ( intel ( r ) txt ) to perform a measured and verified launch of an os kernel / vmm . mercurial repo : urltoken .
intel® trusted execution technology ( intel txt ) is a new security technology that started appearing on intel server platforms in 2010 . this book explains intel trusted execution technology for servers , its purpose , application , advantages , and limitations . this book guides the server administrator / datacenter manager in enabling the technology as well as establishing a launch control policy that he can use to customize the server’s boot process to fit the datacenter’s requirements . this book explains how the os ( typically a virtual machine monitor or hypervisor ) and supporting software can build on the secure facilities afforded by intel txt to provide additional security features and functions . it provides examples how the datacenter can create and use trusted pools .
the answer is a higher level of security , better ability to mitigate attacks , and the means to prove those capabilities are enforced . intel trusted execution technology ( or intel txt ) can now be a significant part of that solution .
the steps defined in this section can be used to set up intel txt functionality on a supported system , as defined in the “hardware and software prerequisites” section of this document and the intel® trusted execution technology server platform availability matrix [ 5 ] .
arm trustzone technology provides system - wide hardware isolation for trusted software . the family of trustzone technologies can be integrated into any arm cortex - a core , supporting high - performance applications processors , with trustzone technology for cortex - a processors .
globalplatform is a standards - defining organisation that provides software apis , compliance and certification schemes for the trusted execution environment ( tee ) . the work is done in the device committee with the aim of creating trusted chip technology that can be used to provide confidentiality and integrity to trusted code and data . the tee consists of three parts : hardware - based isolation technology ( such as arm trustzone ) , trusted boot and a small trusted os . the tee can be used to run multiple isolated trusted apps which may be provisioned over the air . compared to other security technologies the tee provides higher performance and access to larger amounts of memory .
figure 5 illustrates , at a high level , potential interactions between different management solutions and a trusted system or trusted vm .
note : to choose server platforms , operating environments , and hypervisors that support intel txt , please refer to the intel® trusted execution technology server platform availability matrix . [ 1 ] this document assumes the presence of supported hardware and software components , as defined in that matrix .
the escalation and sophistication of malicious threats has organizations employing more stringent security requirements and scrutinizing every aspect of their execution environment . organizations are looking to their cloud providers to offer hardware monitoring and security controls that can determine if a workload is running on trusted hardware in a known location . softlayer’s leading the way by enabling customers to deploy hybrid and cloud environments with enhanced security verification of their launch environment using intel® trusted execution technology ( intel® txt ) .
tsp delivers kinibi® , a trusted execution environment ( tee ) , which is a hardware - isolated environment , running within the main processor on a device . it is a secure operating system which enables trusted applications ( tas ) to run on it .
membership in the trusted computing group is your key to participating with fellow industry stakeholders in the quest to develop and promote trusted computing technologies .
a grc platform combined with trusted compute pools can enable auditing information on a trusted platform or a trusted compute pool . this capability can help provide real - time or historical metrics , verifying that platforms are trusted as expected and that workload controls for trust and location are enforced .
i see that intel has listed
trusted execution technology
as a feature for its core i7 - 860 and - 870 processors . . . but not for the other core i7 processors and not for the core i5 processor either . judging from intel ' s marketing department - -
. . . helps protect against malware attacks by enabling an environment where applications can run within their own space , protected from all other software on the system . . .
- - this sounds like it could be a useful feature . so why is trusted execution technology not offered on the rest of core i7 and core i5 ?
getting this error on docker startup . . .
hardware assisted virtualization and data execution protection must be enabled in the bios
intel trusted execution technology is available today on selected platforms . the platform availability matrix and the builder guides are for your reference . they are there to help you design and setup your secure environment . if you have other solutions , i would encourage you to share them , so we can learn as a community .
it is beneficial to be able to identify and manage the trusted systems protected by intel txt within your environment . insight into which systems are trusted and which are untrusted can be used to set up trusted lists or trusted pools . those systems that are trusted can be assigned tasks that require higher security ; this capability is particularly valuable in virtualized and cloud - based implementations .
actually
trusted execution technology
is available on practically all modern pc cpus , on both amd and intel chips . look if
execute disable bit
is mentioned for the i7 - 860 and - 870 ' s specs . that ' s another term intel ' s marketing uses , for something commonly called
nx bit
urltoken
the term trusted computing and related technologies , like palladium , trusted platform module , lagrande , have always caused lots of controversy in the it world . most of the fear , however , has been a result of the lack of understanding of how a particular technology really works .
as the cloud industry evolves , so does the volume , complexity , and sophistication of attacks on it infrastructure . intel ® trusted execution technology ( txt ) provides hardware - assisted security technologies to build a secure foundation . enable intel txt on your bluemix bare metal servers to enhance your security portfolio and as an additional method to secure your infrastructure .
if the system returns a 1 , then the current boot is in trusted mode .
lenovo , asus , and toshiba are known as the first three big computer manufacturers to put that technology into practical use and to bring about greater convenience for their customers . the one question to ask is whether such technology is really safe and secure for its users to enjoy .
to create a trusted environment and enable the management layer within it , certain hardware and software requirements must be met . the following discussion summarizes , at a high level , the components that must be present and properly configured before management can be fully realized for a trusted platform , a trusted vm , or a group of trusted vms . figure 2 illustrates these requirements .
, is intel ' s response to the trusted computing trend . txt is currently part of the
trusted os : a host os that has performed a measured launch and passed the datacenter policy .
intuit ' s latest ai project - - a digital financial assistant - - could help its customers save money , while breaking new technology . . .
intel® trusted execution technology ( intel® txt ) is a collection of hardware - based security technologies built into intel’s silicon . they address the security threats across physical and virtual infrastructure by complementing runtime protections like anti - virus software . intel txt is also a hardware - based method of verification in compliance efforts such as trusted computing environment . intel txt is designed to harden platforms from the emerging threats of hypervisor attacks , bios , or other firmware attacks , malicious root kit installations , or other software - based attacks .
looks like
trusted execution technology
may not be so trustworthy :
joanna rutkowska of invisible things lab has disclosed a new vulnerability in certain intel processors . . . [ that ] can interfere with txt ( trusted execution technology ) , allowing it to elevate privileges . . . the result is a recipe for rootkits running at the most basic , privileged level of the processor . intel has issued an advisory conceding the error and announcing a new sinit acm ( authenticated code module ) to fix the problem . systems with q35 , gm45 , pm45 express , q45 , and q43 express chipsets are affected . this isn ' t the first such flaw in txt found by invisible things lab . a similar , but unrelated attack was disclosed by them and patched by intel in february .
- excerpted from pc magazine ' s security watch
the armv8 - m architecture extends arm trustzone technology to arm cortex - m systems such as microcontrollers , enabling robust levels of protection at all cost points .
buffer overflow in intel trusted execution technology ( txt ) sinit authenticated code modules ( acm ) in intel q67 express , c202 , c204 , c206 chipsets , and mobile intel qm67 , and qs67 chipset before 2nd _ gen _ i5 _ i7 _ sinit _ 51 . bin express ; intel q57 , 3450 chipsets and mobile intel qm57 and qs57 express chipset before i5 _ i7 _ dual _ sinit _ 51 . bin and i7 _ quad _ sinit _ 51 . bin ; mobile intel gm45 , gs45 , and pm45 express chipset before gm45 _ gs45 _ pm45 _ sinit _ 51 . bin ; intel q35 express chipsets before q35 _ sinit _ 51 . bin ; and intel 5520 , 5500 , x58 , and 7500 chipsets before sinit acm 1 . 1 allows local users to bypass the trusted execution technology protection mechanism and perform other unspecified sinit acm functions via unspecified vectors .
trusted computing group announced that its tpm 2 . 0 ( trusted platform module ) library specification was approved as a formal international standard under iso / iec ( the international organization for standardization and the international electrotechnical commission ) . tcg has 90 + specifications and guidance documents to help build a trusted computing environment .
yes , i would like to receive emails from trusted computing group . ( you can unsubscribe anytime )
some people are skeptical about the txt technology , and not only because of the irrational fear of the trusted computing ( iftc ) , but rather because they point out to the complexity of the whole technology . the complexity is bad , because 1 ) it leaves more space for potential attacks , and 2 ) it discourages developers ( isvs ) from using the technology in their products ( e . g . neither microsoft , nor vmware make use of txt in any of their bare - metal hypervisors , even though txt is very well suited for this kind of software ) .
for armv8 - a based application processors arm provides an open source reference implementation of an authenticated trusted boot flow and a secure runtime ( bl31 ) . arm trusted firmware is available on github under a permissive bsd licence and can be easily integrated with a commercial or open source trusted os to create a trusted execution environment . included in the runtime is a secure world monitor , interrupt routing and an implementation of power state co - ordination interface ( psci ) that is used by all major non - secure world operating systems to ease integration between supervisory software from different vendors working at different levels of privilege . there is a port of arm trusted firmware to the juno development platform and it is widely adopted by silicon partners . for more information , please visit the arm trusted firmware project on github .
figure 4 . migrating vms among hosts while protecting data , using trusted compute pools enabled by intel txt .
intel® xeon® processor with intel txt - provides simultaneous support for a standard partition , and one or more protected partitions . the standard partition corresponds to the traditional execution environment on pcs that do not support intel txt . the partition allows conventional applications to execute normally without being modified . protected partitions provide hardened access to memory and other system resources , and isolate execution from other processes .
if the system returns vmbtbootenabled = true as a boot option , then the current boot is in trusted mode .
intel ® trusted execution technology ( intel ® txt ) is a technology that uses enhanced processor architecture , special hardware , and associated firmware that enable certain intel processors to provide the basis for many new innovations in secure computing . it is especially well suited for cloud computing and other uses where data integrity is paramount . its primary goal is to establish an environment that is known to be trusted from the very start and further provide system software with the means to provide a more secure system and better protect data integrity . this is essential in that if the platform cannot be protected , then the data it will store or process cannot really be protected . at a minimum , this technology provides discrete integrity measurements that can prove or disprove a software component’s integrity . these software components include , but are not limited to , code ( such as bios , firmware , and operating system ) , platform and software configuration , events , state , status , and policies .
an mle provides a software - verification process to attest that all of the critical components of the pre - os launch environment have been verified against a known good source , ensuring a secure chain of custody from the moment a system is powered on until the system kernel or hypervisor takes control . an intel txt - aware hypervisor provides isolation for host oss and applications . to identify operating environments and hypervisors that support intel txt , please refer to the intel® trusted execution technology server platform availability matrix [ 4 ] .
txt is , no doubt , exciting new technology , but intel ' forgot ' about one small detail about smm ,
said rutkowska said .
the whole point about txt is that you don ' t have to trust your , for example , your bios , you don ' t have to trust your eeproms , anything . you can have a system that isn ' t trusted , and magically , it is trusted .
this book details innovative technology that provides significant benefit to both the cloud consumer and the cloud provider when working to meet the ever increasing requirements of trust and control in the cloud . ”
the researchers said that a single design flaw is responsible for the bugs and results in more than 40 places in which code execution vulnerabilities could be introduced . they have exploited two vulnerabilities , strongly implying they could exploit more .
this book describes how this technology can benefit the datacenter , and it specifically addresses the concerns of the cloud service provider and the cloud service client . the goals of this book are as follows :
once select servers are provisioned with intel txt , the infrastructure level building blocks will enable a customer to build trusted compute pools .
as already mentioned in this document , the ability to assign sensitive workloads or ensure that confidential data is only executed on trusted platforms or trusted vms can have substantial benefits . consider the case where a patient wants to access his or her detailed medical history . a web hosting server with a trusted status could display the information to the end user once they have logged on , but if the web hosting server was found to be on a non - trusted host , the policy engine could reduce functionality and prevent logins .
the means for a trusted os ( that is , the system operating in the secure mode environment ) to provide additional security features .
the attack subverts txt ' s trusted boot process , which relies on the trusted platform module to provide essential services , such as securely storing txt measurements in tpm registers . these measurements are used to ensure , for example , that only a trusted version of the hypervisor can get access to secrets , such as an encryption key , or authenticate itself to , say , an administrator ' s laptop .
arm trustzone creates an isolated secure world which can be used to provide confidentiality and integrity to the system . it is used on billions of applications ' processors to protect high - value code and data for diverse use cases including authentication , payment , content protection and enterprise . on application processors it is frequently used to provide a security boundary for a globalplatform trusted execution environment .
typical use cases for a arm trustzone based tee include : trusted boot , integrity management , authentication , payment , content protection , crypto and mobile device management . secure world device drivers can be used to interface to peripherals and for example used to enable trusted user interfaces .
* * special technical notice * * intel® trusted execution technology ( intel® txt ) is provided by intel® and operates on softlayer ' s bare metal servers that require specific technical knowledge to support and manage . softlayer ' s current delivery model allows us to turn intel txt either on or off ; we cannot assist with configuration of intel txt settings due to the sensitivity of customer environments and data . it is recommended that customers either have staff trained in intel ' s txt technologies or engage with a consulting firm with proven expertise in orchestrating root of trust and measured launch environment ( mle ) architecture .
intel trust attestation solution ( enterprise edition ) provides a web interface for ease of administration of trusted compute hosts , shown in figure 9 .
intel txt allows software to define a safe , isolated execution space within the larger system . controls on this execution space allow operations to be executed without being observed or influenced by unauthorized software . multiple of these execution spaces may exist on the system at once , and each has dedicated resources that are managed by the processor , chipset , and os kernel . there are many parts that make intel txt work within a server . but there isn’t a good publicly - available utility to validate that all these components are available and functional for server systems . in this blog , i will provide a brief overview of the components and the reference information , address the how - to setup intel txt supported environment , and the availability of hardware and software .
the trusted computing group has defined a series of specifications that define how a commercial computing platform can support code measurement in a trusted manner . intel developed an openattestation sdk , released to open source , that takes advantage of the infrastructure work group integrity report schema specification [ 45 ] .
the mobile platform work group ( mpwg ) promotes the implementation of tcg technologies in mobile devices to support the wide variety of business models in consumer , enterprise , government , and academic environments . mpwg defines specifications and recommendations for trustworthy mobile devices that address the resource constraints of mobile devices ( e . g . , intermittent connectivity and limited battery life ) . mpwg collaborates closely with global platform and has co - developed recommended best practices for the use of trusted execution environment ( tee ) and other global platform technologies in trusted mobile devices .
please see the ovirt manual , “ trusted compute pools deployment [ 49 ] ” for guidelines on deploying oat within a red hat fedora environment .
it is true that txt is a very complex technology ( the senter instruction is probably the masterpiece of the cisc architecture ! ) , but i personally like it . in my opinion this is the first technology available for the pc platform that has the potential to really change something , much more then the nx - feature did a few years ago . before people will run to the comment box — if you would like to argue about the usefulness / uselessness of trusted computing / txt , please base your opinions on technical facts ( read the spec ! ) and not on your feelings !
for an example of how to set up a filter on open attestation that can be used to schedule workloads on trusted compute pools , see openstack nova scheduler [ 52 ] . this could be used for use cases where confidential or sensitive workloads need to be isolated to a trusted compute pool .
tboot launch is the part of tboot that starts the measured launch process by executing the getsec [ senter ] instruction . this execution starts the dynamic chain of trust measurements , extending the root of trust measurement into pcr 17 and measures tboot post code into pcr 18 .
it ' s a good place to mention that amd has its own version of the late launch implemented via skinit instruction . we haven ' t looked at the amd technology thoroughly yet , so i will refrain from commenting on this .
instead of providing a fixed one - size - fits - all security solution , arm trustzone technology provides the infrastructure foundations , that allow the soc designer to choose from a range of components that can fulfil specific functions within the security environment .
the following link has more information about adding additional security and compliance to your workloads with a trusted secure cloud solution with ibm , vmware , and hytrust .
this section discusses ecosystem solutions that address various use cases for trusted compute pools ; the use cases themselves are discussed at greater length later in this document .
the odca provider assurance usage model [ 25 ] has certain security requirements that can be met more easily with a siem solution combined with a trusted compute pool .
the openattestation sdk [ 50 ] can be used to grow your own management solution from the ground up . having the ability to communicate with trusted systems or trusted virtual machines via apis or through a trust agent can be used for basic policy enforcement . table 2 shows example service apis , from the openattestation sdk documentation .
intel txt uses a combination of hardware , firmware , and software , and is built on and fully compliant with the trusted computing group pc client and server specifications .
the sole purpose of intel txt technology is to provide a trusted way for loading and executing system software , e . g . operating system kernel or virtualization machine monitor . what is extraordinary here is that txt doesn ' t make any assumptions about the state of the system before loading the software , thus making it possible for a user to ensure secure load of an os or vmm , even in a potentially compromised machine .
for example , a company can verify at any given moment that medical data containing patient records is only accessible from systems within a trusted compute pool to help ensure compliance .
for example , virtual environments allow migration of running vms among physical hosts . trusted systems can be grouped into trusted compute pools , to which policy can be applied to ensure that vms are only migrated to trusted systems within the cloud . figure 4 shows how vm migration can be controlled across resource pools , using trust as control instrumentation for migration policy . this approach enables it managers to restrict confidential data or sensitive workloads to platforms that are well controlled and have had their configurations thoroughly evaluated with the aid of intel txt .
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there are no hard and fast rules for using intel txt attestation . typically , third - party software uses intel txt measurements in the platform configuration registers to verify which host os is in control ( and which version ) . knowing which host os then provides insight into what the trusted os has measured into the platform configuration registers reserved for the trusted os .
trusted boot ( tboot ) is an open - source , pre - kernel / hypervisor module that uses intel txt to perform measured and verified launch of an os kernel / hypervisor .
2015 cybersecurity innovation forum september 9 , 2015 - september 11 , 2015 the 2015 cybersecurity innovation forum is a three - day event hosted by the national institute of standards and technology , with participation from the national security agency , and the department of homeland security . this . . .
intel trusted execution technology is relatively new for servers . it was initially developed for desktop and mobile computing platforms . it first debuted in servers in 2010 as attacks on datacenters started to escalate and calls for platform hardening formalized . for quite some time , server platforms were thought to be immune from attacks because they are typically kept in secure rooms and managed by highly skilled professionals . that is no longer sufficient . the frequency of attacks against datacenters is growing at astounding rates and those attacks are increasingly likely to have come from organized crime , corporate competitors , or sponsored by foreign governments with very sophisticated methodologies and deep resources . 1 corporate executives worry that a breach could be very costly—both socially and economically , in the face of new regulations and stiffer penalties for failing to protect personal information .
a platform that is not trustworthy places the workload at risk of compromise and cannot provide assurance that the claimed geolocation of the cloud server is accurate . geo - located platforms in which there is a hardware root of trust are aggregated into trusted compute pools , segregating them from untrusted resources and enabling trusted geolocation . this capability allows for enforcement of geolocation restrictions and auditing .
i ' m glad somebody in the non - corporate security community is willing to stand up for tc . i ' ve been interested in this technology for a long time , and have recently given a tech talk on it here at google , but a lot of people hear the words
trusted computing
and switch off . btw i think the reason microsoft and vmware don ' t use txt is that it ' s really not ready yet . the tboot reference implementation still requires quite obscure hardware and bios reflashing to work properly , and txt doesn ' t yet provide any trusted i / o , making it useless for a large / interesting set of applications .
intel txt enabled bios , authenticated code modules ( acm ) created and signed by intel inside the bios , and trusted platform modules ( tpm ) integrated onto the motherboard that provides securely - generated cryptographic keys . this is a hardware - based mechanism that stores cryptographic keys and other data related to intel txt within the platform . it also provides hardware support for the attestation process to confirm the successful invocation of the intel txt environment . the attestation process uses the tpm to establish mutual trust between parties regarding execution environment during runtime .
ipl represents the normal boot process up until the time that the process would normally load and execute the kernel . the first module executed should now be the trusted boot ( tboot ) module .
nevertheless , trusted computing is becoming part of our lives , whether we want it or not . these days almost every new laptop comes with an on - board trusted platform module ( tpm ) . microsoft ' s palladium initiative have been renamed so many times in the recent years , that probably even people working at microsoft are confused now . nevertheless , some of the palladium technologies made their way into vista , and microsoft bitlocker is , without doubt , the most successful , widely deployed product that is based on the idea of trusted computing . ( in fact the bitlocker is the
announced in 2005 , intel ' s txt technology , code named lagrande , was designed as a set of hardware security extensions to intel processors and chipsets . the goal is to protect against software - based attacks , such as rootkits , by creating an environment for software to run in its own space .
the baseline measurements are stored on a trusted platform module ( tpm ) hardware device . the tpm device is integrated within the server system and provides a range of intel txt security - related functions .
in these protocols a trusted vendor uses their private key ( prk ) to generate a signature of the code that they want to deploy , and pushes this to the device alongside the software binary . the device contains the public key ( puk ) of the vendor , which can be used to verify that the binary has not been modified and that it was provided by the trusted vendor in question .
standards - based trusted computing technologies developed by tcg members now are deployed in enterprise systems , storage systems , networks , embedded systems , and mobile devices and can help secure cloud computing and virtualized systems .
ensure your systems start up in a known good state . the power of intel txt establishes a root of trust providing the necessary underpinnings for successful evaluation of the computing platform and its protection . during the boot process , the trusted platform module ( tpm ) holds the computer generated keys for encryption , which essentially is a code that measures , extends , veriﬁes , and executes—over and over to establish a system as trusted .
and those
issues
gave us a starting point in developing a proof - of - concept ( albeit very reliable ) exploit that shows how we can bypass trusted boot process implemented by intel ' s tboot .
intel txt must be enabled at multiple levels , including hardware , bios , os , and hypervisor . attestation and cloud - management software work with those components to enable management and reporting for the trusted system environment .
the simplest defense against shack attacks is to keep any secure world resource execution located in on - soc memory locations . if the code and data is never exposed outside of the soc package it becomes significantly more difficult to snoop or modify data values ; a physical attack on the soc package is much harder than connecting a logic probe to a pcb track or a package pin .
( tcg ) to enhance trust and therefore security on computing platforms . the charter of the tcg is to develop industry standards for trusted computing building blocks and define their use for various platform types . their efforts have produced a specification for a special security component ( called a trusted platform module , or tpm ) and specifications for how to use that module in pcs and servers . these documents are available from the tcg web site (
this changes what the tcg refers to as the tcb ( trusted computing base ) , which , by definition , is the minimum amount of code that needs to be trusted for a platform . for server platforms , the tcb includes the processor microcode and the acm , whose signature and integrity are checked before the acm is allowed to execute . it must also include the bios ( or at least a portion of the bios ) .
writing code for the ' normal world ' remains the same as before : the application has access to privileged and non - privileged space plus interrupts . to call on libraries in the secure world , function entry points are linked into the project . this design simplifies software development for arm cortex - m processors that incorporate arm trustzone technology .
software cloud - management solutions are available for various use cases , including policy and compliance enforcement , automation , auditing , reporting , workload migration , etc . trusted compute pools can be combined with these solutions to enhance security .
for client platforms , the bios does not need to be trusted to clear memory in defense of a reset attack , because memory cleaning is performed by the acm before allowing the bios to access the memory . this is not possible for servers given the complexity of server memory configurations and ras features . thus in response to ( or to detect ) a reset attack , bios code integrity must be verified before the bios can be trusted to clean secrets from memory . typically , this is transparent to the os and end user , but it does have implications on how bios upgrades occur . for instance , upgrading bios causes its measurement to change , and if there is a reset attack after a bios update , the bios would not be trusted . to overcome this problem , intel txt allows for a signed bios policy that allows the acm to validate that the bios is still trusted using signature verification .
siem software creates a general security control point that aggregates the real - time alerts , event information , and reports from various security applications and activities into a database that can be queried , including the status of trusted compute pools .
in washington , dc in february . over the recent months , rafal and i have been looking at the intel txt technology as part of a work done for a customer , to see if this could be used to improve security of a product , from a typical user ' s perspective . we figured out that it definitely could , but that there are also some issues…
while evaluating the effectiveness of the intel® txt technology , as part of a work done for a customer , we have identified several implementation flaws in the intel ' s system software , which allowed to conduct the above mentioned stage - one attack . we have provided intel with extensive description of the flaws in december 2008 , and intel is currently working on fixing those vulnerabilities .
carlin covey is a principal engineer in nxp’s security technology center , focusing on hardware support for trust architectures . carlin has contributed to the tcg trusted mobility solutions ( tms ) and mobile platform work groups since 2011 , became a tms work group co - chair in 2013 , and is a lead editor in both mobile work groups . carlin has been active in security engineering for over 30 years , serving as a system architect for multiple government and commercial hardware / software security systems . he was a technical contributor for open mobile terminal platform , pki forum and ietf pkix . he holds 10 patents on security - related innovations .
illustrates how platforms can be categorized based on intel txt measurements . a trusted compute pool consists of those servers that have demonstrated that they have a known good configuration . this excludes those with an unknown trust level ( those that don’t support intel txt or don’t have it enabled ) and , of course , those that fail the intel txt launch control policy . the trusted compute pool can be further categorized into pools of trust based on various trust policies set by the service provider and service client .
a trusted platform module ( tpm ) must be integrated with the chipset . the chipset and the tpm work together to ensure that the measurements and security properties of the system are not spoofed by untrusted components . tpms are devices manufactured by various third - party silicon providers that attach to the chipset via the low pin count ( lpc ) bus or serial peripheral interface ( spi ) , and they provide a number of security functions . tpm capabilities and requirements are defined by the trusted computing group ( tcg ) [ 2 ] , an industry initiative “formed to develop , define and promote open , vendor - neutral , industry standards for trusted computing building blocks and software interfaces across multiple platforms . ” tpm details can be found in the main tpm specification [ 3 ] .
a trusted os ( a term used by the tcg for system code that invoked and passed the secure launch process—proving it meets the launch control policy ) is allowed access to additional ( privileged ) security functions , including using additional pcrs . the trusted os can measure such things as additional code , data , and configuration into those pcrs , and use the content of any of the pcrs to make trust decisions and seal / unseal data . applications ( both on and off the platform ) can also use those measurements to make trust decisions .
a globalplatform tee can be used alongside other security technology such as secure elements , hypervisors and security sub - systems to provide multi - layered defence . the tee is designed to protect against software attacks ( e . g . malware ) and common physical attacks ( so called
shack
attacks ) . globalplatform have created a protection profile for the tee which provides detailed information on the attacks that a tee should resist .
the measurement process for intel txt starts with hardware ( that is , microcode designed into the intel processor ) and uses hardware ( special chipset registers ) to start the measurement process and store the measurements in the trusted platform module chip in a way that cannot be spoofed by software .
these components are measured by creating an sha - 1 hash of the component and validating that hash against a set of securely stored values . adding launch control policy assures that os / hypervisor execution is allowed to continue if and only if the policy is satisfied . policy consists of the platform owner specifying the minimum version of acm , platform configuration as measured by platform configuration registers ( pcrs ) 0 - 7 in the tpm containing known good values , and the mle measurement being a known good value .
intel txt provides hardware monitoring and security controls that help assure businesses that a workload deployed on or migrated to softlayer’s infrastructure is running on trusted hardware in a known location . softlayer provides support for intel txt on a range of bare metal servers ( see urltoken for a complete list ) .
txt assures that system software , such as an os kernel or virtualization machine monitor ( vmm ) , is loaded and executed in a trusted way . it will securely load a clean vmm or os kernel , even if the computer is compromised by boot sector viruses , biois rootkits , etc .
for an example of how to set up a filter using open attestation that can be used to schedule workloads on trusted compute pools , see openstack nova scheduler [ 18 ] . this code sample will provide insight for those who wish to use an open source approach for this particular use case .
intel txt is the hardware basis for mechanisms that validate platform trustworthiness during boot and launch , which enables reliable evaluation of the computing platform and its protection level . intel txt is compact and difficult to defeat or subvert , and it allows for flexibility and extensibility to verify the integrity of platform components during boot and launch , including bios , operating system loader , and hypervisor . because of the escalating sophistication of malicious threats , mainstream organizations must employ ever - more stringent security requirements and scrutinize every aspect of the execution environment .
authenticated code modules ( acms ) created and signed by intel must be present inside the bios . the acm contains platform - specific code which is authenticated to the chipset and executed in an isolated environment within the processor and the trusted environment ( authenticated code mode ) , enabling the acm to perform secure tasks .
current anonymous internet browsing applications build dynamic routes using a network of willing hosts and layers of encryption along the route . the cross site scripting anonymous browser (
xab
) exploits vulnerable web sites / applications and victim browsers to build a network of drones . the intent of xab is not to replace the current applications , such as tor , but rather to provide an alternative that does not require willing participants and further stretches the functionality and intent of javascript and other browser technology .
the ultimate goal of intel txt is to provide a more secure and hardened computing environment , but it is not a means to an end . rather it is a tool for achieving higher levels of trust , and that trust does not come from simply enabling intel txt . the platform owner ( e . g . , datacenter it manager ) plays a key role in establishing what trust means , and intel txt provides the flexibility so that the system administrator can create a trust policy to match the requirements of the datacenter . servers that implement intel txt can demonstrate ( attest ) that they comply with a specific trust policy , and thus can be used to form pools of trusted servers based on the established trust policy . servers without intel txt and those that don’t meet the trust policy can be excluded from the trusted pools . with the right policies in place , the datacenter can provide trusted pools of servers , allowing service clients to create “ use policies ” depending on the trust level . one example of this is the ability to confine critical applications ( such as e - commerce services processing credit card information ) to run only within a trusted pool . this has many applications for both private and public cloud providers , as well as their clients .
the dynamic chain of trust starts on request by the operating system ( os ) via a special processor instruction , which measures and verifies another acm ( the sinit acm ) , which will oversee the secure launch . the sinit acm performs additional checks , which include making sure the bios passed its security checks and has locked the platform configuration . the acm then measures the os ( actually a portion of the os referred to as the trusted os ) and invokes a launch control policy ( lcp ) engine that will determine if the platform configuration and os will be trusted ( as defined by the policy set by the system administrator ) .
as mentioned at the beginning , intel txt was first developed for client platforms ( desktop and mobile ) . so is it the same technology ? there are some differences , primarily because servers are more complex than client machines . one of the most prominent differences is the set of server features known as reliability , availability , and serviceability ( ras ) . the complexity of server ras features such as memory mirroring , memory sparing , and error handling require capabilities that are very platform - specific , and thus must be performed by platform - specific code . this code must be trusted ; in particular , the bios code that executes after a platform reset ( to mitigate the reset attack ) and the system management module ( smm ) code , which may need to change memory configuration and / or platform configuration while the system is in operation .
the host os is allowed to enter and exit the measured launch environment without having to reboot the platform . to exit , the host os simply invokes another special processor instruction that will reset the pcrs that were used to measure the launch and those that were set by the trusted os . of course , this action also curtails the host operating system’s access to some of the additional security resources . reentering the secure environment restarts the dynamic chain of the trust process , and thus recalculates the mle measurements storing them in those pcrs , allowing a different trusted os ( or different configuration of the same os ) to execute with its own set of trust credentials .
the intel trust attestation solution ( enterprise edition ) , code - named “mount wilson , is a multi - hypervisor , multi - device , trust attestation / verification solution , for servers , clients , network / storage , and embedded devices . it can be used by cloud resource schedulers , siems , policy engines , and grc tools for trust verification , remediation , reporting , and compliance . it can also be used by a trust broker for secure access to trusted services from trusted clients . for additional information on intel trust attestation solution ( enterprise edition ) , contact your intel field applications engineer ( fae ) or submit a request for more information [ 53 ] .
the mobile platform work group ( mpwg ) is a tcg technical wg that develops specifications and reference documents . the trusted mobility solutions work group ( tms ) is a tcg solutions wg that develops use cases , frameworks , and other reference documents . mpwg and tms collaborate frequently to address the evolving challenges of the mobile device markets around the world .
each time the host os boots , it detects if intel txt is enabled , and if so , performs a secure launch . as a trusted os , it continues measuring system code , configuration , and other entities into the platform configuration registers reserved for the os . the host os maintains a log that indicates what has been measured into each register .
we describe what intel ® txt is , how it works , and how it can be used to build more secure systems . we also show , however , weaknesses in current txt implementations and how they can be practically exploited . we will show a working exploit code against tboot - intel ® ' s implementation of trusted boot process for xen and linux .
kathleen is a member of the senior professional staff in apl’s asymmetric operations department . kathleen has contributed to the tcg mobile platform work group since 2011 , became a mpwg work group co - chair in 2015 , and is a lead editor . her research at apl focuses on dynamic integrity measurement and trusted computing technologies for of desktop , server , and mobile platforms .
by submitting this form , you are consenting to receive marketing emails from : trusted computing group , 3855 sw 153rd drive , beaverton , or , 97003 , http : / / www . trustedcomputinggroup . org . you can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the safeunsubscribe® link , found at the bottom of every email . emails are serviced by constant contact
by providing a hardware - based security foundation rooted in the processor and chipset , intel txt provides greater protection for information that is used and stored on servers . a key aspect of that protection is the provision of an isolated execution environment and associated sections of memory where operations can be conducted on sensitive data , isolated from the rest of the system . likewise , intel txt provides for sealed storage where sensitive data such as encryption keys can be securely kept to shield them from being compromised during an attack by malicious code . attestation mechanisms verify that the system has correctly invoked intel txt to make sure that code is , in fact , executing in this protected environment .


mountain line is a public transit system providing service to the community of missoula , montana and the university of montana .

the legal name of mountain line is the missoula urban transportation district , which is governed by a board whose members are appointed by the city of missoula and missoula county .

mountain line ( montana )

a mountain line bus travels down east broadway street on friday morning . mountain line is offering free rides due to the blizzard .
mountain line , missoula ' s municipal transit agency , is free and open to the public . visit mountain line ' s website for more information .
how to get to mountain line transfer center by bus click on a route and see step by step directions on a map , line arrival times and updated line schedules .
mountain line will be closed early thursday and all day friday for the christmas holiday .
currently mountain line operates within a 36 square mile area , serving missoula , east missoula , bonner , target range , and rattlesnake . mountain line provides the following services :
september 1991 – mountain line enters a contract with the university of montana , providing free bus service to all um faculty , staff , and students .
special services : mountain line provides seasonal special event transportation to popular community events such as the western montana fair , out to lunch , and the farmer’s market .
mountain line announced friday it is bringing on corey aldridge of washington as its new general manager .
july 2009 – mountain line provided 828 , 887 rides on fixed route , a 4 % increase over the previous year . mountain line has provided over 19 million rides since it began service .
tatiana tsuber checks the new mountain line route map monday while waiting for a bus at the downtown transfer station . monday was the first day of zero - fare riding and new routes on mountain line .
mountain line ' s outreach coordinator , bill pfeiffer , told nbc montana they are still determining how much the damage will cost . the bus involved has been taken out of service .
the missoula urban transportation district envisions mountain line as a safe , pleasant , productive , efficient and satisfying environment for the employees of mountain line . mutd promotes working relationships that are characterized by common respect , shared responsibilities and involvement , open , honest , communication and acceptance of the benefit of each other and mountain line .
may 2005 – mountain line institutes a year - round schedule , rather than decreasing service during the summer .
you guys , you don ' t respond . way to go , mountain line . way to go .
and i love the app . mountain line is showing how to do it right ! ! thank you .
new adoptables in missoula and western montana . pick your new dog or cat !
since that time , mountain line has provided more than 28 million passenger trips . missoulians took a record 1 , 562 , 120 trips on mountain line’s fixed route service in 2016 alone , a nearly 64 percent increase from 2014 levels , in part due to mountain line’s phase ii service enhancements and the popular zero - fare program .
riders can check mountain line’s bus trackers on an app or at urltoken for estimated arrival times . mountain line also is posting updates on its facebook page and twitter at @ mslabus , and answering phones at 721 - 3333 .
youths ages 18 and younger can ride missoula’s mountain line buses free , from june 1 through aug . 31 .
the office of transportation promotes and provides transportation options to the university of montana community .
to book your zip line tour or stop by base lodge tickets & information . zip line tours are offered daily from 9
simply put , riding all mountain line buses is now free , and it means a lot to people like rad .
eleven university of montana students and members of the montana model united nations team attended the national model un conference in new york city in march , representing eritrea and chairing . . .
begin creating your dream vacation to missoula , montana with destination missoula ' s travel planner .
mountain line officials say the benefits of the zero - fare service are expected to be substantial over the next few years .
for more information on mountain line , zero - fare , phase 2 or other changes to the system , visit urltoken .
weekday schedules – effective monday , september 14 , 2015 . mountain line operates 12 weekday fixed routes in and around missoula .
missoula , mont . - a missoula police department investigation determined that operator error caused a mountain line bus crash on monday .
local note : with recent improvements to mountain line , and additional changes on the way , mountain line is becoming more convenient and livable . operating zero - fare in combination with high quality transit service is the right combination for maximizing efficiency and effectiveness .
for the first time ever , missoula ' s mountain line bus system has provided more than a million rides in a year .
november 2012 – downtown transfer center bike facility opens . mountain line carries 30 , 322 bikes on its buses ( fy2012 ) .
at the same time mountain line implemented zero fare , it also went through a major reorganization of routes to cut operational costs .
the office of transportation offers convenient and environmentally responsible bus transportation options to the university of montana community . all udash routes are free and open to the public . the four routes included in the udash system are the lewis and clark red line , the missoula college blue line , the 5th / 6th / russell streets purple line , and the late night downtown gold line .
contact us to learn more about rocky mountain line systems and how we can help your business . [ learn more . . . ]
“we’ve held our own holiday food drive internally here at mountain line for many years , ” said bill pfeiffer , mountain line community outreach coordinator . “this year we decided to help the entire community collect donations to give missoula a better shot at topping the ‘cats . ”
the last day of udash bus service is saturday , may 12 . mountain line bus service continues to operate throughout the summer break . maps , schedules , and trip planning advice are available at mountain line ' s website or by calling ( 406 ) 721 - 3333 .
mountain line is using one of its spare vehicles to fill in on route 9 after a bus was involved in a crash monday evening .
missoula – mountain line will be closed on wednesday , july 4th , 2018 in recognition of the independence day federal holiday . all more >
if mountain line offered free bus rides , it would take some of the hassle out of riding and the number of riders would jump .
we have no reports of injuries due to the earthquake at this time ,
member station montana public radio reports .
shockwaves are still being felt with decreasing intensity in parts of western montana .
less than one year later , mountain line has nearly achieved that daunting task , thanks in part to zero - fare service and expanded routes .
ly in the winter . even though we have 2 vehicles , my wife often uses mountain line to commute to and from her job downtown .
free bus rides on mountain line are near the top of mayor john engen’s budget priority list of items the city should fund in the future .
the rules apply to mountain line vehicles , transfer centers , park and ride lots , bus stops , shelters and
other passenger facilities .
university of montana : nestled in the heart of western montana’s stunning natural landscape , the university of montana is a place where top - tier students , educators and researchers from across the country and around the globe come and thrive . um is located in missoula , montana’s second - largest city with a population of 80 , 000 residents . the university draws a diverse population to missoula and helps cultivate an educated , engaged and vibrant community .
paratransit services : since 1991 , mountain line has been providing curb to curb transportation for passengers eligible under the americans with disabilities act ( ada ) .
route 4 : bus staying on montana highway 200 after east missoula . route turnaround at town pump in bonner .
associated students of the university of montana office of transportation asum ot as it is also known , is a student owned and operated transit agency founded in 1999 . they work to promote and provide transportation options to the university of montana and missoula community . asum ot has been a long term partner of mountain line on many projects including zero - fare and bike walk bus week .
mountain line opened 2015 with the monumental goal of boosting ridership by 45 percent over three years , a figure that equates to 400 , 000 additional riders .
the blasts of wind and snow delayed some buses five to 10 minutes , and it created some detours , according to mountain line and its bus tracker .
paul michael quintana writes a message for mountain line’s corporate and municipal partners , thanking them for zero fare bus service . ( martin kidston / missoula current )
a map shows seismic activity around the site of a 5 . 8 magnitude earthquake that struck western montana early thursday .
missoula , montana ' s
mountain line
1998 built obi 02 . 501 orion ii # 131 , the host vehicle for the chipset these codes were programmed onto , is seen westbound on w . broadway st . at ryman st . in downtown missoula , may 2009 .
montana earthquake is felt for hundreds of miles early thursday : the two - way the earthquake was the strongest to hit western montana in years ; it was followed by at least 10 measurable temblors with magnitudes of up to 4 . 9 .
before monday , amy rad was spending $ 10 every week to take mountain line buses from franklin school to her job at the arby’s restaurant on north reserve street .
mountain line has been really sucky lately . the buses are either early ( and don ' t wait ) or they ' re late by at least five minutes .
earlier this week mountain line launched its three year , zero - fare project . now riders don ' t have to pay a penny to hop onboard a bus .
mountain line operates 13 fixed routes on weekdays , 11 of which also operate on saturdays . there is no service on sundays or most major holidays . during the saturdays in the summer , mountain line also operates a trolley to two farmers ' markets and a craft market in downtown missoula . additionally , mountain line operates a trolley to
out to lunch ,
an outdoor concert series on wednesdays during the summer . paratransit service is provided for people with disabilities who are unable to ride fixed route buses .
may 2008 – mountain line moves into renovated operations facility , providing covered parking for vehicles , expanded maintenance facilities , additional office space , and bus wash using recycled water .
at rocky mountain line systems , it is our commitment to maintain the highest level of safety at all times , on all jobs . [ learn more . . . ]
a drone flight above campus to show why the university of montana regularly ranks among the nation ' s most beautiful . . .
the service every 15 minutes on the 2 line . thanks for the ride today , mountainli
. unauthorized account access or use is not permitted and may constitute a crime punishable by law . mountain america federal credit union does business as mountain america credit union .
with the pieces in place , mountain line continues to explore the future . congressional approval of a long - term highway bill also helps the agency budget deeper into the future .
mountain line officials say encouraging people to take the bus benefits everyone by decreasing traffic congestion , improving air quality and helping older missoulians and people with disabilities remain active and mobile .
directions to mountain line transfer center from the top locations in missoula using bus click on a route to get updated schedules , live arrivals and step - by - step directions .
mountain line operations manager jeffrey logan said stinking up the bus is against the rules . and if it ' s that bad , it ' s time to tell the driver .
we found that the ridership increased tremendously , going from 9 - hundred thousand rides to over 1 . 5 million rides ,
said mountain line transit general manager corey aldridge .
on january 5 , 2015 , mountain line’s fixed route and door - to - door services began operating at zero - fare . along with the addition of a second high - frequency bolt ! route 2 and late evening service , the community partnership goal was to increase ridership at mountain line 45 percent within the three years of the zero - fare demonstration project — that’s an annual ridership increase of 400 , 000 ! in 2015 , mountain line has already added an additional 350 , 000 rides , with hopes of this growth continuing in 2016 .
highlights of the cycling mountain bike - men on day 16 of the rio 2016 olympic games at mountain bike centre on august 21 , 2016 in rio de janeiro , brazil .
trail ridge road - rocky mountain national park ( u . s . national park service )
saturday schedules – effective monday , september 14 , 2015 . on saturdays , service is provided on 10 of mountain line’s 12 routes . there is no saturday service on routes 9 or 11 .
a witness told nbc montana he watched the bus driver run after the bus shortly after parking it . police say the driver suffered minor injuries .
the senior van : in july 2008 , mountain line began a complementary senior van service for those not eligible for paratransit under ada , and enhanced service such as door to door and package assistance .
december 2002 – mountain line partners with missoula in motion , the missoula downtown association ( mda ) , and the missoula parking commission to provide unlimited - use bus passes to qualified mda member employees .
the university of montana and the city of missoula provided the bulk of the initial funding to get the program off the ground , contributing $ 205 , 000 and $ 100 , 000 respectively . the launch of zero fare coincided with other improvements to mountain line , funded by a $ 1 . 7 million levy approved by voters in november 2014 .
in missoula , a group of community partners have organized to fund a three year zero - fare demonstration project on mountain line . the growing list of partners include the university of montana , associated students of the university of montana , city of missoula , county of missoula , the missoula metropolitan planning organization , st patrick hospital , community medical center , missoula county public schools , missoula aging services , missoula downtown association , missoula parking commission , missoulian , southgate mall , destination missoula and homeword , inc .
it was strong enough to wake people up across a wide area , and was felt along a line more than 500 miles long , from billings to spokane , wash . ,
montana public radio ' s eric whitney reports for our newscast unit .
with mountain line celebrating its 40th anniversary later on this year , system administrators say they want to launch a new campaign see if they can get more businesses to jump on board and support zero fare .
of course , as luck would have it , mother nature decided to send down freezing rain that caused traffic havoc around much of western montana on monday .
be advised that mountain america is not responsible for the product , service , or overall website content available at the linked site . mountain america ' s privacy policies do not apply to linked sites .
if every car carried two people , that increase in ridership amounts to 150 , 000 fewer vehicles traversing the city ' s streets . it ' s enough to make mountain line’s new community outreach coordinator smile .
by june , growing ridership pushed mountain line over the 1 - million mark – the most rides in the agency’s history . in october , it set a single - month record of 118 , 447 rides .
on friday morning , the bus on route 11 got stuck briefly , and mountain line put several detours in place to remain on passable roads . as of late friday afternoon , the detours were as follows :
in the initial phase , the organization’s community partners provided roughly $ 465 , 000 to cover the annual bus fares that were lost when ridership went free . that represented around 7 percent of mountain line’s budget .
mountain america credit union , p . o . box 9001 , west jordan , utah , 84084 ,
the next year , rocky mountain national park ' s lofty wilderness interior was introduced to the first travelers along an auto route the rocky mountain news called a
scenic wonder road of the world .
© 2018 mountain hardwear . 1414 harbour way south , richmond , ca 94804 . all rights reserved .
january closed with a 22 - percent increase in ridership compared to the prior year . but by february , mountain line set a passenger record , providing more than 100 , 000 monthly rides for the first time .
traveling to mountain line transfer center in missoula has never been so easy . use moovit to get detailed step by step directions as you travel from your current location or from a top attraction or any major public transit station . view detailed routes on a map , see bus and train schedules , arrival times , and service alerts so you know exactly how to get to mountain line transfer center . when traveling to mountain line transfer center use moovit ' s live directions with get off notifications to know exactly where and how far to walk , how long to wait for your line , and how many stops are left . moovit will alert you when it’s time to get off — no need to constantly re - check whether yours is the next stop .
she’d overstepped his line . he seized her wrist and twisted ; tears sprang and rolled , a dish clattered .
a map shows seismic activity around the site of a 5 . 8 magnitude earthquake that struck western montana early thursday . u . s . geological survey hide caption
it’s a luxury mountain line hasn’t had since 2006 , making it possible to plan for bus and stop upgrades . when combined with increasing ridership , pfeiffer said , it also helps make the agency more competitive for grants .
now , rad will save that $ 520 a year because mountain line officially launched a three - year zero - fare demonstration project , made possible by $ 460 , 000 in sponsorship money from 14 different community partners .
november 2013 – voters pass a $ 1 . 7 million levy to expand mountain line services to fund phase ii changes including an additional 15 - minute bolt ! route and late evening service until 10 : 00 pm .
mountain line recently broke 1 . 25 million boardings this past year . with an industry standard boarding time of 3 . 0 to 3 . 5 seconds to pay a fare or swipe a fare card , the time savings of a zero - fare system add up quickly . this could be the difference of mountain line getting a customer to their workplace or other important destination on time , while also significantly decreasing operating costs in the future .
for partners like the university of montana , st . patrick hospital and community medical center , missoula downtown association and others , it ' s been a worthwhile investment .
the university of montana volunteer income tax assistance program has partnered with the international rescue committee to ensure missoula refugees a smooth introduction to the american tax system . . .
the money covered the loss of waiving bus fares . pfeiffer said it also removed one additional hurdle to riding the bus . zero fare is set for two more years , but mountain line is already looking to the future .
the university of montana shapes creative and agile learners who are prepared to build successful careers and advance society ' s well - being . become a griz today by applying at
two students from montana’s only hindi language program have just won scholarships to study hindi in india . brandon fulbrook received an american institute of india studies scholarship and . . .
when mountain line staff and directors came up with zero fare , they hoped for a ridership bump , but everyone was surprised how successful it was , increasing ridership by regular users and also convincing more people to use the bus .
bus riders gathered at the downtown transfer center in missoula on thursday to celebrate mountain line’s zero fare service , just as the organization gears up for a new campaign to continue offering free rides . ( martin kidston / missoula current )
mountain line closed its books on the 2016 season having recorded a record 1 . 6 million passengers . ridership has increased 50 percent since 2015 , when missoula’s transit system launched zero fare service – a figure that exceeds initial expectations .
“we’re closing out the first year of zero fare and it’s been incredible , ” said pfeiffer . “anything we can do to get more people riding is a great thing , and it’s an exciting time to be at mountain line . ”
mountain line has been so great in all this snow ! my tiny car has been stuck at home and you all make sure i can get around when the roads are icy , which is such a great service to the community .
curious about what the university of montana campus looks like ? visit um via google street view ! the tour begins from the middle of the oval at the center of campus .
mountain line opened 2015 with the momentum of a fully loaded bus running at full speed . in january , backed by a $ 1 . 7 million levy passed by voters , the transportation district launched phase 2 of its long range transportation plan .
january 2016 – ridership grows to over 1 million rides annually , a 40 % increase in the first 12 months of phase ii and zero - fare . mountain line breaks the 1 million annual rides barrier for the first time in its history .
the missoulian : as missoula’s community newspaper , the missoulian provides news and updates as they happen online , and every day using print . the missoulian has been a strong partner of mountain line on many different programs , most recently zero - fare .
philadelphia - raised gianforte stoked bozeman’s entrepreneurial scene , but it’s the montana locals he hired who might sustain it . “it was a founding principle of elixiter to create high - paying jobs in montana , ” hull says . in doing so , hull and his fellow founders won’t just boost bozeman’s economic profile , they’ll also serve as role models for struggling communities around the west .
the missoula urban transportation district and mountain line are essential components of missoula’s integrated , multi - modal transportation system . we are committed to the community goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled in missoula . we believe that our community can meet this goal by :
mountain line is kicking the new year off with a bang . the first monday of 2015 broke a record in the number of riders the bus system has seen that day in previous years : a positive sign for this year ' s ridership numbers .
this program list date is unknown , but was from a bus that was retired in the summer of 2010 . it is a code by code analysis of the chipset from mountain line ' s 1998 built obi 02 . 502 orion ii # 131 .
“one problem we’ve had is that , historically , graduates from montana colleges have been told to leave the state , ” says christina quick henderson , executive director of the montana high tech business alliance . “with the growth of the industry , that’s no longer true . ” among the 25 least - populated states , montana has topped the kauffman foundation’s rankings of startup activity for four years running . indeed , the 138 members of quick henderson’s trade organization added more than 900 jobs in 2016 , and nearly 1 , 000 are expected to be added to payrolls in 2017 .
• upon request , frequent green line udash riders can get a free parking pass to the park place parking garage in downtown missoula until the end of the semester . the pass is valued at $ 190 and will be offered at no charge to students , faculty and staff . from downtown , riders can catch the mountain line route 1 bus to campus , which departs every 15 minutes .
mountain line also launched a handful of new services through a 2013 voter approved mill levy . these include a new
bolt !
route , which picks riders up every 15 minutes , along with more late evening routes and services for people with disabilities .
the location and focal mechanism solution of this earthquake are consistent with right - lateral faulting in association with faults of the lewis and clark line , a prominent zone of strike - slip , dip slip and oblique slip faulting trending east - southeast from northern idaho to east of helena , montana , southeast of this earthquake .
the place is incomprehensibly scenic , even by montana standards , situated in a spot where four mountain ranges decide enough is enough and relax into a fertile valley . yellowstone national park is a 90 - minute drive . a river runs through it was filmed on the nearby gallatin river , so trout fishing is a given .
the chemistry department at the university of montana has added a new 3 - d color printer . the device will help campus researchers visualize molecules , crystals and other structures used in their . . .
the university of montana will award an honorary doctorate in education to sheila m . stearns during its may 12 commencement exercises . on march 9 , the state board of regents unanimously approved . . .
all content © copyright 2000 - 2018 cowles montana media . all rights reserved . for more information on this site , please read our privacy policy , and terms of service , and ad choices .
september 2017 – ridership grows to over 1 . 5 million rides annually , a 70 % increase since december 2014 . the zero - fare partners agree to continue the program through 2020 . mountain line looks to expand the number of zero - fare partners to 40 .
transit systems always look for ways to reduce reliance on the fare box , since those revenues are only a small percentage of what it takes to actually run a transit system . but mountain line is one of only a handful which have hit on the right formula .
the lack of diversity could affect the bottom line as companies’ ambitions shift . “some companies want to hire dozens of people a year , and that means you have to recruit people from the outside , ” says motoyama . “in it - related jobs , you may need to find people from india , people from china . you don’t find those kinds of software engineers in montana . ” the job - hoppers some montana entrepreneurs dread often are some of the most talented employees , are diverse , and sometimes come from far - off places .
hile waiting for the late bus the mountain line app said the bus ws on time , even the buses are late the app , will never say us late , and sometimes they are early si you miss the bus , 4 day ago i swear the lady had been drinking she was all over the white line onthe road , tis is what to expect from the number 4 bus from east missoula to missoula .
keeping employees in bozeman may be easy , but finding them is a challenge . instead of competing with other companies amid a large talent pool , montana firms for years had to fill the pool themselves . gianforte’s bait of choice was home - state pride . twice a year , rightnow would send postcards to msu computer science grads who had left the state , and the company erected billboards on highways leading to big sky ski resort and yellowstone . he says 80 % of his employees in bozeman were born in montana , and the rest were “hunting and fishing fools” who wanted the montana lifestyle and a good wage .
zero fare is now in the final year of a three - year demonstration project , and mountain line is mounting a campaign to continue the program into 2018 . but that will cost money , and the organization is looking to expand its list of partners to generate the revenue .
this fall , the davidson honors college at the university of montana will welcome more than 200 of the best and brightest students from across the country and state . thirty - one of these students . . .
the 2018 spring commencement ceremonies at the university of montana on saturday , may 12 , will feature words of wisdom from speaker eric sprunk , the chief operating officer for nike inc . sprunk , . . .
an image from the montana bureau of mines and geology ' s network of seismographs shows the 5 . 8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that began at 12 : 30 a . m . thursday . the image
clearly shows the [ initial ] p - wave arrival followed closely by a series of strong s - waves and then numerous aftershocks ,
the national weather service says . montana bureau of mines and geology hide caption
storms usually increase ridership 20 percent , but the bump friday wouldn’t be quite as high given all the closures , williams said . the blizzard shuttered missoula schools as well as the university of montana and other businesses .
missoula is ushering in 2015 with a lot of exciting changes around town . one of the first noticeable changes for missoulians and visitors alike , is the new zero - fare bus service around town . this service allows anyone riding a mountain line bus around missoula , to ride for free .
when mountain line launched zero fare , it set a goal to increase ridership by 45 percent . backed by its community partners , it has achieved that benchmark two years into the program , making missoula one of roughly 40 communities in the u . s . that provides zero fare service .
the missoula urban transportation district ( mutd ) was established by voters in june of 1976 . the vote established taxing authority for the creation of the district and passed by a margin of 2 to 1 . the resulting service , known as mountain line , began operating on december 12 , 1977 .
amy rad , left , and michelle fields board a mountain line bus headed for the north reserve street area last monday near franklin school . rad , who uses the bus to commute to her job on reserve , said zero - fare will save her about $ 10 a week in commuting costs .
amy rad , left , and michelle fields board a mountain line bus headed for the north reserve street area near franklin school last january . rad , who uses the bus to commute to her job on reserve , said zero - fare will save her about $ 10 a week in commuting costs .
volunteers helped clean up the mess at d & d ; foodtown grocery , after an earthquake hit overnight . assistant manager ruth baker says the damage included pickle jars and wine bottles . eric whitney / montana public radio hide caption
download the free umontana app to earn about degrees and majors , view a campus map , check the food zoo menu , look up udash bus schedule and more . search for “university of montana” in your app . . .
take your checking account beyond simple transactions . mystyle checking℠ features rewards like gift cards , travel , cash back and more—available only at mountain america .
fixed route bus service : weekday bus service is provided on twelve fixed routes . during peak weekday hours mountain line provides high frequency 15 - minute service on two bolt ! routes , with 30 - minute and 60 - minute frequency on most other routes . saturday service is provided on ten routes . mountain line’s trolley serves downtown for the farmers market season and out to lunch in caras park . buses generally operate between 6 : 00 a . m . and 10 : 00 p . m . on weekdays and 10 : 00 a . m . and 6 : 00 p . m . on saturdays .
with zero - fare , the funding per passenger drops significantly and the effectiveness and productivity of public investment in transit are enhanced . think of it this way : a zero - fare mountain line system allows the agency’s budget and service level to stay constant while an additional several hundred thousand rides are provided .
thursday ' s earthquake was the strongest to hit western montana in years ; it was slightly stronger than a 5 . 6 magnitude quake that hit a nearby area in july 2005 , the u . s . geological survey says .
at least 10 measurable temblors hit montana from 12 : 30 to 1 : 31 a . m . thursday , with the last two having magnitudes of 3 . 9 and 4 . 4 , according to the united states geological survey .
* includes zip line tours , round - trip scenic lift ticket plus 3 rides on our alpine slide and / or summer tubing – try both ! based on availability . package is only valid for one day . unused activities or tickets are non - refundable . you must be between 60 and 230 lbs to take a zip line tour .
ion . i never received a response when asking for more details about a special bus route . but then again the bus driver called for me and found out more info for me . thank you so much mountain line team and bus drivers for driving safe , being kind and being the rainbow in my cloud so many times !
like many places in the state , the local economies were driven for years by tourism and agriculture . but unlike many , this city in the southwestern corner of montana started to diversify its economy in the 1980s when photonics companies started to build lasers , and manufacturing and outdoor - gear firms also settled in . a conservationist might bump into a think - tank economist at one of the local breweries . montana state university ( msu ) provides both thousands of jobs and an annual batch of new employees .
“when we decided to implement zero fare , our goal was 400 , 000 and 45 percent over three years , which is the length of the ( zero - fare ) demonstration project , ” said bill pfeiffer , who joined mountain line in august . “to see most of that growth already in the first year is really incredible . ”
in the 1970s , tough new bikes that relished rough terrain were developed and mountain biking was born . the sport started in california but its popularity soon spread .
one of the great resources for the mountain line buses is their mobile app , and bus tracking . making it easier for visitors and riders who are unfamiliar with the bus routes to see in real - time , where the buses are and where they are headed . check out all the great features in the latest edition of bolt ! :
most of the products we sell are exclusive to mountain warehouse , unlike other outdoor clothing shops . by cutting out the middleman we can produce the best quality products at the best prices . we pride ourselves on providing great value outdoor gear and at mountain warehouse you can be sure to receive honest advice from our knowledgeable staff .
an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 . 8 startled many people out of their sleep in western montana early thursday . the shallow quake was felt for hundreds of miles from its epicenter southeast of lincoln , including in parts of neighboring states and in canada .
some 30 drivers were on the road friday counting those with the door - to - door service , and their long experience is the main reason the snowstorm didn’t thwart buses , said general manager tree . mountain line drivers have some 16 years behind the wheel on average , and their quality driving meant no wrecks friday and routes close to on time .
• udash riders can park free of charge at the comfort inn , located three blocks west of the east broadway park and ride lot , and board the green line udash to campus .
prices , operating schedule and policies are subject to change without notice . processing fees apply to online orders . for reservations - schedules - fares or ( 208 ) 331 - 1184 horseshoe bend depot , 120 mill road , po box 487 , horseshoe bend , idaho 83629 © 2003 thunder mountain line • problems with this website ? e - mail web master .
the fourth summer since brokeback mountain came on and in june ennis had a general - delivery letter from jack twist , the first sign of life in all that time .
the old man said , “tell you what , i know where brokeback mountain is . he thought he was too goddam special to be buried in the family plot . ”
this zero - fare service is available for everyone , on any of mountain line bus routes including the airport , downtown , and to the mall . over 36 square miles can be explored from the bus routes in missoula . many of missoula’s many trails can be found just off of the bus routes for hiking and biking , the buses have convenient bike racks as well .
soar high above ski slopes , over ravines and through the trees on montana’s longest zip line tour . experience more than a mile of flying on six separate lines stretching as long as 1 , 900 ft . across and up to 300 ft . above the forest floor . if the exhilaration doesn’t take your breath away , the views will . tours are led by two guides who ensure that each flyer is soundly secured for each flight and who facilitate fun from start to finish .
mountain line is governed by a seven member volunteer board of directors . directors are appointed by the city of missoula and missoula county . all appointments shall be for four years , or in the event of a vacancy , the appointment shall be for the unexpired term . a staggered appointment schedule is in place to provide for the expiration of no more than two terms each year .
“mountain line makes it really easy for me to commute around the missoula area , ” said paul michael quintana , who doesn’t have a driver’s license . “between riding my bike and the bike racks on the bus , it makes it really easy to get anywhere around missoula in 15 minutes or less . it gets me to school , my job and my home every day . ”
rocky mountain line systems was started by chris and dayna vinich in 1996 . at the time , the majority of their work encompassed utility distribution and horizontal directional drilling services . in 2011 , rmls underwent reorganization . with the addition of todd anderson and rusty anderson , our scope of work increased to also include oil and gas pipeline construction , welding and fabrication , and plant construction . we are proud to serve montana , north dakota , south dakota , wyoming , nebraska , and colorado . in addition to our main location in casper , wyoming , we have a shop in lander , wyoming and a yard in douglas , wyoming to better suit the needs of our valued customers .
meetings are held in the mountain line conference room , 1221 shakespeare , at 12 : 00 pm . board meeting agendas are posted 48 hours before the scheduled meeting time . past board meeting minutes are posted after being approved by the board , usually one month after the meeting time listed . we do not post draft minutes . for more information , please email info @ mountainline . com .
the operator in question has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of our internal operation ,
he said .
we want to make sure that , whatever the outcome is , that it is fair to the operator in question and in the best interest of not just us at mountain line but to all of our passengers and all the members of the missoula community .
due to construction of the new missoula college building , the associated students of the university of montana’s east broadway park and ride lot will close monday . users are encouraged to take advantage of several alternatives , including a temporary park and ride at the comfort inn university hotel , 1021 e . broadway .
real - time bus information for the mountain line transit fixed - route transit service in missoula , mt . features • real - time location of the buses • routes displayed on the map • bus location - based etas • arrival notifications • view route schedules compatibility android 4 . 4 ( kitkat ) or higher is required . support please e - mail us at support @ urltoken with any issues or questions .
odds are that those employees will remain in those jobs , too . montana employers enjoy preposterously high retention rates compared with their counterparts in larger metros . “they don’t want to leave , ” says hull . “we have a 75 % lifetime retention rate . that’s pretty crazy in the tech and marketing industry . ”
in the 1970s , mountain biking developed as a fringe sport in california . taking a bike off - road was nothing new but the development of a new bike that relished such terrain was ; these bikes had fatter tyres , rapid - shift gears , drum brakes and ground - breaking suspension . these bikes gave thrill seeking cyclists a much more freedom and the sport of mountain biking was born .
[ photo : flickr user jesse newland ] it’s not a phenomenon exclusive to elixiter . the kauffman foundation recently studied the startup scenes in bozeman and missoula , home of the university of montana , and found a similar result . “it’s a big contrast : people in silicon valley are always looking for better job opportunities . . . [ but ] people in montana are a lot more laid back , ” says yasuyuki motoyama , the kauffman foundation’s former director of research , now incoming assistant professor at the university of kansas . “they don’t constantly seek other opportunities or counteroffers . they are happy with the company where they are working . ”
“we’re benefiting even more people than we used to because of the zero fare program , which is the result of 15 community partners , ” said bill pfeiffer , mountain line’s community outreach coordinator . “what we’re really down here doing is to celebrate with our riders who are enjoying the service , asking them how zero fare has changed their life , and to get that message to our partners to keep this program going . ”
in 1963 , when he met jack twist , ennis was engaged to alma beers . both jack and ennis claimed to be saving money for a small spread ; in ennis’s case that meant a tobacco can with two five - dollar bills inside . that spring , hungry for any job , each had signed up with farm and ranch employment—they came together on paper as herder and camp tender for the same sheep operation north of signal . the summer range lay above the tree line on forest service land on brokeback mountain . it would be jack twist’s second summer on the mountain , ennis’s first . neither of them was twenty .
nino schurter of switzerland competes during the men ' s cross - country on day 16 of the rio 2016 olympic games at mountain bike centre on august 21 , 2016 in rio de janeiro , brazil .
mountain warehouse has been offering quality outdoor clothing and equipment at the lowest prices since 1997 . from hiking clothing and camping equipment to ski wear and running gear we stock everything you need for your outdoor activities .
the first national mountain bike championships were held in 1983 in the usa . but the sport quickly grew in popularity in europe and australia . the first mountain bike world championships , recognised by the international cycling union ( uci ) , were organised in 1990 . olympic recognition followed and mountain biking made its debut as an olympic discipline at the atlanta games in 1996 , with a cross - country event for men and women . the programme has remained unchanged ever since . among the big names in this discipline is france’s julien absalon , a two - time gold - medal winner - in 2004 in athens and in 2008 in beijing .
nino schurter of switzerland celebrates winning gold during the men ' s cross - country on day 16 of the rio 2016 olympic games at mountain bike centre on august 21 , 2016 in rio de janeiro , brazil .
jaroslav kulhavy of the czech republic rides during the men ' s cross - country on day 16 of the rio 2016 olympic games at mountain bike centre on august 21 , 2016 in rio de janeiro , brazil .
manpower is an industry concern . your workforce must be trained , competent professionals . your public image and your future are at stake . mountain states can provide your company with the highly motivated personnel to meet your needs .
mountain line’s route 2 has become missoula’s second bolt ! route , bringing 15 - minute service to several locations , including the westside , north reserve , the good food store and southgate mall . additionally , late evening service on routes 1 , 2 , 6 and 7 will enable missoulians to access transit until 9 : 50 p . m . monday through friday . also , people with disabilities will see increased paratransit support , which allows them easier access to buses .
“mountain line is really a piece of infrastructure for the city , ” said michael tree , general manager . “it’s a critical city service , and so on a day like today , when it’s really tough to get around transitwise , and the city can see their systems up and going , and all the routes are functioning and pretty dang close to being on time , that’s a real confidence booster for the community to know there’s real value there for them . ”
southgate mall : with more than 100 stores and 10 , 000 brands , you’ll find something for everyone in the family and for every occasion . the largest mall in western montana , southgate mall stores offer women’s apparel , shoes , kid and teen clothing , jewelry , sporting goods , appliances , electronics , and more . browse department stores , specialty shops , and boutiques .
an image from the montana bureau of mines and geology ' s network of seismographs shows the 5 . 8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that began at 12 : 30 a . m . thursday . the image
clearly shows the [ initial ] p - wave arrival followed closely by a series of strong s - waves and then numerous aftershocks ,
the national weather service says .
frequent , convenient bus service to um commencement is provided by udash , the university of montana’s student - run transit service . udash is fast , free , and easy - to - use . the udash commencement shuttles will run from 7 : 00 am until 7 : 15 pm . download a printable pdf map of the routes or view a live map of the bus locations .
friend this letter is a long time over due . hope you get it . heard you was in riverton . i’m coming thru on the 24th , thought i’d stop and buy you a beer . drop me a line if you can , say if your there .
mountain line’s trolley is a well - known sight around missoula , providing rides to the saturday markets and out to lunch in caras park during the warm season . griz fans are encouraged to bring non - perishable food items to drop off at the trolley before halftime . monetary donations to the missoula food bank also count towards the total , with $ 1 equivalent to 1lb . of food . the community with the most pounds raised by halftime of the brawl of the wild on nov . 21 in bozeman wins .