Enclave Sandbox Encrypted Tunnel for Cloud Data Confidentiality
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud environments, there is a need to ensure that client data remains confidential not only from external malicious actors but also from privileged software and administrators, as existing security measures are inadequate in preventing data exposure even from trusted insiders.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an enclave sandbox that establishes an encrypted communication tunnel with service enclaves, ensuring all data communication between client processes and service processes is encrypted, and requiring successful attestation to a key manager for decryption, thereby preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If service processes are executed in a cloud environment with standard security measures, then service functionality and accessibility are improved, but data confidentiality is compromised to privileged software and administrators
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cloud environment into isolated enclave regions where service processes execute with restricted access. The enclave sandbox divides the computing environment into separate trusted and untrusted zones, preventing privileged software from accessing data in the enclave while maintaining full service functionality within the isolated segment.
Solution Approach 2:
An enclave sandbox acts as an intermediary layer between service processes and the underlying cloud infrastructure. This mediator enforces security policies by blocking access attempts from privileged software and administrators, while allowing legitimate service operations to proceed uninterrupted.
2Reliability
If encrypted communication tunnels are established for all data communication, then data confidentiality is improved, but system complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
Encryption is applied selectively to communications involving enclave data rather than universally across all system communications. The enclave sandbox implements encryption specifically at the boundaries where data enters and exits the enclave, maintaining confidentiality without adding complexity to internal service process communications that do not require protection.
3Reliability
If attestation requirements are implemented for decryption, then access control is improved, but operation speed and efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Attestation is performed in advance during enclave initialization and service process registration, establishing trusted relationships before data operations occur. The enclave sandbox pre- validates the identities and permissions of service processes, so that subsequent data access operations do not require repeated attestation checks, maintaining both security and performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for accessing one or more service processes of service includes executing at least one service enclave and executing an enclave sandbox that wraps the at least one service enclave. The at least one service enclave provides an interface to the one or more service processes. The enclave sandbox is configured to establish an encrypted communication tunnel to the at least one service enclave interfacing with the one or more service processes, and communicate program calls to/from the one or more service processes as encrypted communications through the encrypted communication tunnel.