Isolated Computing Environments with Trusted Integrity Metrics

The patent divides the computing platform into multiple isolated computing environments (containers, virtual machines, or secure enclaves), each with its own integrity metrics and trust boundaries. This segmentation allows multiple applications to run simultaneously on the same host while maintaining compatibility and trustworthiness through isolation mechanisms. Each environment can be verified independently through integrity metrics without affecting other environments.

The patent introduces integrity metrics as intermediary verification mechanisms that mediate between isolated computing environments and the host system. These metrics (such as hardware security module measurements, cryptographic hashes, or trust anchors) provide a standardized interface for verifying trustworthiness without requiring complex isolation implementations. The intermediary metrics simplify the verification process while maintaining strong isolation guarantees.

The patent performs integrity metric measurement during the boot-up or initialization phase of both host and guest operating systems, before the actual computing work begins. By obtaining integrity metrics (such as cryptographic hashes of system files, memory contents, or hardware configuration) at this preliminary stage, the system establishes trust boundaries early. This approach simplifies ongoing verification, as the metrics are already captured and stored without requiring continuous complex measurement during operation.