Confidential Computing With Tenant-Specific Keys and Secure Memory
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-tenant environments, existing systems face challenges in maintaining data confidentiality as encrypted data is decrypted and stored in plaintext, making it vulnerable to malicious attacks.
Innovation Solution
A security core encrypts and decrypts data using tenant-specific encryption keys, storing it in a secure memory accessible only by the security core, and ensures authorized access, thereby maintaining confidentiality by keeping data in encrypted form.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the system decrypts encrypted data and stores it in plaintext in memory for processing, then data accessibility and processing efficiency are improved, but data confidentiality is compromised and vulnerability to malicious attacks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security core as an intermediary component between the main core and memory. The security core exclusively manages encryption and decryption operations, acting as a mediator that protects plaintext data during the brief period it exists in memory. The security core uses encryption keys to encrypt plaintext data before storing it in memory, and only decrypts data when absolutely necessary for processing, thereby minimizing exposure time and protecting against malicious attacks.
2Ease of operation
If encryption keys are stored in the system for decryption operations, then data accessibility is improved, but security risk increases due to potential key exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the encryption key management function from the main core and places it exclusively in the security core. The security core is designed to store and manage encryption keys separately, accessing them only when decryption is required. This separation ensures that keys are not exposed to the main core or other potentially vulnerable components, maintaining key security while enabling necessary decryption operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a single system serves multiple tenants with different data, then system utilization is improved, but data isolation and confidentiality become more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different encryption keys to different tenants within the same system. Each tenant's data is encrypted using a unique encryption key specific to that tenant. The security core manages these multiple keys and ensures that each tenant can only access and decrypt their own encrypted data, thereby maintaining data isolation and confidentiality in a multi-tenant environment while allowing the system to serve multiple tenants simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for confidential computing is provided, which is performed by a security core including one or more processor, and includes storing first encrypted data associated with a first tenant in a first memory, in which the first encrypted data is obtained by performing encryption of the first plaintext data using a first encryption key associated with the first tenant, in response to receiving a request to access the first plaintext data, decrypting the first encrypted data using the first encryption key so as to generate the first plaintext data, and providing the first plaintext data to a main core that processes data stored in the first memory.