Confidential Computing: Securing Data in Cloud Computing
What is Confidential Computing?
Confidential Computing is an approach that uses secure enclave technology to enable the creation of a trusted execution environment (TEE) based on security features provided by CPU vendors. A TEE allows for encryption/decryption within the CPUs, memory and data isolation, and other security features that vary by CPU vendor. Secure enclave technologies form the foundation for Confidential Computing.
Hardware-Grade Privacy on the Cloud and Beyond
The risk of data compromise is massive and persistent. It menaces the trust, the integrity, and the viability of the cloud itself. Computer science has already tackled and overcome the problem of encrypting data at rest in storage and data in transit across the network. But the Gordian Knot remained: how to protect data and code that are actually in use in memory — this goal seemed to be limited by conventional computing architecture itself. Efforts to hide data using software encryption failed. Computing hardware requires encryption keys to be decrypted and exposed in memory before use, leaving them vulnerable to hackers or insiders.
In response, Confidential Computing innovated an unprecedented, hardware-grade, architectural approach to security through secure enclaves (often used interchangeably with TEEs). Confidential Computing focuses on securing data in use — specifically, by securing memory — to eliminate data’s fatal flaw when unencrypted while being processed.
Eliminating Risk: Building in Data Security and Privacy by Default
As long as data in use lay exposed, sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII), financial or health information remained at risk in the cloud. Security entities have struggled to neutralize cyberthreats, but this whack-a-mole game often loses to breach and exfiltration of high-value information. The need is for unmodified workloads — applications and data system memory — to be capable of running anywhere, in any environment, in total isolation from inside and outside attacks.
Now, Confidential Computing solves this problem of isolating data and execution within a secure space. Using a section of the CPU as a sanctuary or enclave creates a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). A secure enclave is a memory and CPU-only environment that is isolated from and invisible to all other users and processes on a given host. Within a secure enclave, code can reference only itself.
Secure Enclaves: A Major Advance but Complex to Deploy
Implementing secure enclaves is both complex and costly, requiring the re-architecting of each application. An enclave demands the hands-on participation of engineers and specialists, which raises operating expenses to impractical heights. Each chip and cloud provider created its own enclave solution: Intel SGX, Azure, AMD SEV, AWS Nitro Enclaves, and Google VM. But these efforts, however worthy, created a dizzying field of choices for customers already maintaining on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. They face having to learn each respective secure enclave technology, which raises overhead in terms of engineering personnel, time, application performance, and cost.
Neutralizing Unauthorized Insiders and Outside Threats
Fortifying security without reducing IT productivity is a confounding security challenge that the cloud only exacerbated, exposing the problem of limited control over employees and third-party contractors of IT cloud platform providers. Insiders gain host access to perform their jobs, which overexposes them to host data. All it takes to compromise security for an organization is one vengeful, inattentive or opportunistic employee.
But Confidential Computing shuts down “trusted insider” data exposure and outside threats. It secures exclusive data control and hardware-grade minimization of data risk; data protection is integral to the data itself — no need to rely on weak layers of perimeter security. The data owner controls data any place it is stored, transmitted, or used across the fundamental architecture of IT — compute, storage, and communications.
Securing Data by Default
Confidential computing works through hardware-based memory encryption, secure enclaves, and secure boot capabilities. These capabilities serve to provide a secure environment for processing sensitive data.
Memory Encryption
Memory encryption offers encryption of data while in transit or stored in memory, safeguarding data against unauthorized access or exposure. By encrypting memory at the hardware level, attackers are prevented from reading any data within the memory.
Secure Enclaves
Secure enclaves are hardware-based isolated execution environments that provide a secure place for data processing. The enclave only communicates with the CPU through a secure message-passing interface, which keeps data in the enclave inaccessible to other system components. The enclave processes the data in a trusted environment that is isolated from other system components and the outside world, providing an additional layer of protection.
Secure Boot
Secure Boot ensures that only trusted software can run on your device. Secure Boot is designed to ensure that only authorized and authenticated code can execute during the boot-up process.
By working with the hardware, confidential computing ensures that data processing is guarded by default. Additionally, confidential computing emphasizes data privacy and security by design, meaning that security is integrated into every aspect of the system.
What Confidential Computing Unique?
Confidential computing is unique in many ways. Here are some of the factors that make it stand out:
End-to-End Encryption: Confidential computing provides end-to-end encryption of data, from creation to deletion. This ensures that data is secure throughout its lifecycle, even when it is in use.
Hardware-Based Protection: Confidential computing uses hardware-based security measures to protect data, which makes it more secure than traditional software-based solutions.
Secure Enclaves: Confidential computing uses secure enclaves, which are isolated execution environments that provide a secure place for data processing. The enclave only communicates with the CPU through a secure message-passing interface, which keeps data in the enclave inaccessible to other system components.
Protected Computing Environment: Confidential computing uses a protected computing environment to safeguard data processing. The protected environment enables computations to be executed in a secure and isolated manner, with only trusted software and hardware components allowed access.
Compliant with Data Protection Regulations: Confidential computing is designed to be compliant with data protection regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. This ensures that organizations can use confidential computing solutions in a legally compliant manner.
Applicable to Different Use Cases: Confidential computing can be applied to different use cases such as financial services, healthcare, and government. It can be used for secure data processing, secure analysis of sensitive data, and secure machine learning.
confidential computing is unique because it provides end-to-end data protection using hardware-based security measures. It ensures that data is secure throughout its lifecycle, and it can be used in a variety of use cases, making it a versatile and powerful solution for protecting sensitive data.
Explore These Confidential Computing Use Cases
Secure Cloud-Migration
Confidential computing enhances the security of cloud migration by implementing encryption, secure enclaves, access control, and auditing mechanisms. It ensures the protection of sensitive data during migration, maintaining data confidentiality and integrity. By utilizing trusted execution environments (TEEs), it creates isolated and secure spaces for processing sensitive data. Confidential computing helps organizations meet compliance requirements and regulatory standards. It enables granular access control, allowing only authorized individuals or systems to handle sensitive data. Auditing and monitoring capabilities ensure that any suspicious activities are detected and mitigated. Confidential computing addresses data security concerns during the migration process, providing a secure framework for processing and protecting sensitive information. It plays a crucial role in safeguarding data and mitigating risks associated with cloud migration.
Database Protection
Even secured databases store data unencrypted and exposed in memory. Confidential Computing assures that both the database and its data operate within the secure confines of an isolated private environment. Cryptographically and physically isolating data from malicious processes and bad actors virtually eliminate the chance of a data breach or exfiltration.
Data Protection
Confidential Computing delivers the strongest and most complete data security and privacy control available. Sensitive data created, processed, stored, and networked is protected with hardware-rooted zero-trust protection, protecting PII from insiders and bad actors throughout its lifecycle. Data is protected by default, including keys, PII, PHI, PCI, IP, proprietary algorithms, trade secrets, etc.
Crypto MPC & Blockchain Protection
Confidential computing can help protect sensitive input data and output results during Crypto Multiparty Computation (MPC) computations and secure Blockchain transactions. Isolating sensitive data and business logic within secure enclaves can help protect transaction information from attacks and enhance transaction privacy. It also secure data analytics and enable secure processing of sensitive data in a protected environment. Hardware-based security features are used to ensure confidential data remains confidential and tamper-resistant. It can help prevent data leakage or tampering during computations and enhance privacy for sensitive information. This technology can be especially useful for financial transactions, healthcare data analysis, and other confidential use cases. Confidential computing ensures data is secure both in transit and in-use, providing a secure environment for both storage and computation.
Key Management Systems (KMS)
KMS involves a set of software and hardware components that are designed to securely store, manage, and distribute encryption keys in a confidential computing environment. These keys play a crucial role in securing sensitive data and ensuring that it is not accessible by unauthorized parties.
In a confidential computing environment, KMS solutions are designed to operate within secure enclaves or hardware-based security modules, such as Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Secure Enclaves (SEs), and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). This provides maximum protection and confidentiality for the keys stored within these environments.
KMS solutions used for a variety of applications, including securing data in transit and at rest, secure code execution, secure multiparty computation (MPC), and more. They can also be integrated with other security solutions, such as key management servers, to provide enhanced security for confidential computing workloads.
Hardened DevSecOps
Manual security and audit processes for DevSecOps pipelines can be a primary risk vector for software supply chain compromise. These slow labor-intensive processes can make it challenging to identify pipeline attacks promptly. Using confidential computing to run applications inside secure enclaves provides hardware-based proof of software components’ integrity, protecting the software supply chain more broadly.
Conclusion:
confidential computing is a powerful technology that secures data by default, providing organizations with the ability to protect their sensitive information throughout its lifecycle. By leveraging secure enclaves and trusted hardware, confidential computing enables real-time processing and analysis of data while maintaining confidentiality and integrity. Embracing this approach can significantly enhance data security and help organizations meet the ever-growing challenges of safeguarding sensitive information in the cloud computing era.