What Is Confidential Computing and Why Should I Care?
Confidential computing is a method for running applications and data securely on an untrusted infrastructure. Hardware-based encryption improves control over data and applications and prevents networks from becoming compromised. To use this type of encryption, organizations must encrypt data and keys and take care of the corresponding security measures. In this article, we will examine how these factors affect cost and compliance. For more information, read on.
Privacy-preserving analytics
Private data, whether collected from customers or created internally, can be valuable to a company. But data can also be highly sensitive, making it imperative that it be secured to keep it safe. Privacy-preserving analytics in confidential computing technologies can protect your company’s data while reducing the risk of data breaches. This webinar will explore some of the best practices for data minimization. Learn how to use these techniques to simplify your compliance effort while minimizing business impact. You’ll also learn about the technology that enables privacy-preserving analytics.
Hardware-based encryption
The latest trend in confidential computing is hardware-based encryption, which isolates data from the rest of the system. This type of encryption secures the data in a trusted execution environment, which is hard to access from outside the computer. Hardware-based encryption is a great way to protect sensitive data during processing. Embedded encryption keys and attestation mechanisms ensure that only the authorized code can access data and cancel computations.
Regulatory compliance
Increasing regulatory pressure on data security and privacy is driving increased investments in confidential computing. As a result, data privacy laws are becoming stronger across the globe. Credit card companies, for example, are mandating PCI compliance. Moreover, by 2021, 75% of the global demand for confidential computing is expected to come from regulated industries. By 2026, willingness to invest in confidential computing is expected to double across key industries.
Costs
Aside from its benefits, confidential computing also has some disadvantages. It is far more expensive than traditional cloud based compute resources. It requires additional effort to isolate content, such as the deployment of dedicated hardware. And, for now, it is only available for certain use cases. Currently, Google and other major cloud providers have not made confidential computing generally available. Additionally, the cost of using confidential computing services is restricted by basic operational issues. In addition, it is difficult to scale the approach because it requires the creation of trusted execution environments for each use case.
Transition to confidential computing
There is a compelling use case for Confidential Computing within public and highly-regulated industries, such as the health and life sciences. But it didn’t occur to Nelly and his team that this technology would find its way to verticals with no such regulations. Today, many companies view confidential computing as a means to achieve cryptographic isolation in the public cloud, which eases user concerns. Its early adoption has been spurred by the need to reduce the risks associated with data privacy.