{"id":71922,"date":"2022-11-07T10:09:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T10:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/?p=4005572"},"modified":"2022-11-07T10:09:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T10:09:48","slug":"what-is-confidential-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloudnewshub.com\/?p=71922","title":{"rendered":"What is confidential computing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trusted execution environments shield proprietary data against the very cloud providers that host it. See how confidential computing works today. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Image: denisismagilov\/Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today\u2019s tech industry needs to always keep a step ahead of attackers. Confidential computing is a part of that conversation, but as with the edge, there is some confusion over what it actually means.<\/p>\n

AWS defines it as certain hardware and firmware<\/a> that separates an inside, often customer data, from an outside, often a cloud provider. It includes elements of tiered zero trust, allowing organizations that work with a cloud provider to further divide data by its security needs. It can secure data in use and find a balance between collaboration and data ownership.<\/p>\n

SEE: Hiring Kit: Cloud Engineer<\/a> (TechRepublic Premium)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because we\u2019re talking about current-generation tech, let\u2019s use this definition<\/a>: Confidential computing is an initiative to create more secure hardware-based execution environments. It\u2019s often used to secure data in use across multiple environments.<\/p>\n

Protecting data at rest or in transit is generally considered easier than protecting data in use. According to IEEE<\/a>, the problem is the paradox. Data has to be exposed in order to be processed, so how do you stop malware from sneaking in at the \u201cin use\u201d stage? The answer is a trusted execution environment providing real-time encryption on certain hardware, accessible only by approved code.<\/p>\n

Jump to:<\/p>\n

History of confidential computing<\/h2>\n

In 2020, the Confidential Computing Consortium began working on its Technical Advisory Council to set out standards. Companies like Meta, Google, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft and Tencent weighed in.<\/p>\n

At that time, the idea was that by isolating protected data, confidential computing could allow different organizations to share data sets without sharing full access, or it could cut down on energy needs because high-bandwidth or high-latency data like video could be stored in the TEE rather than locally.<\/p>\n