Trusted Execution Environment Attack Detection and Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing environments, there is a risk of malicious processes impacting other processes by exploiting shared resources, leading to data corruption and security breaches within trusted execution environments (TEEs).
Innovation Solution
Implementing methods to detect and respond to attacks within TEEs by setting an 'under attack' flag and executing predefined response policies, which include actions such as terminating execution, saving data, and notifying other processes to mitigate the attack.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If processes share resources in cloud computing environments, then resource utilization and productivity are improved, but security and reliability deteriorate due to malicious processes exploiting shared resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the execution environment into isolated containers, where each process runs in its own isolated space with controlled access to shared resources. This segmentation allows multiple processes to share cloud computing resources while preventing malicious processes from exploiting other processes, thus maintaining both high resource utilization and security.
2Reliability
If attack detection and response mechanisms are implemented in TEEs, then security and reliability are improved, but device complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring security policies and detection rules within the TEE before attacks occur. The system proactively monitors for attack patterns and has pre-defined response mechanisms ready to execute immediately upon detection, reducing the need for complex real-time decision-making and minimizing processing overhead during security events.
3Reliability
If attack response actions are executed immediately, then damage prevention is improved, but system productivity may deteriorate due to process termination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor system state and attack severity. The response actions are dynamically adjusted based on real-time feedback about the attack's impact and the process's importance to system functionality. This allows the system to prevent damage while minimizing unnecessary process terminations, thus maintaining both security and productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for detecting and handling attacks on processes executing within a trusted execution environment (TEE) are disclosed. In one implementation, a processing device may detect by a first process an event indicating that a first process executing in a TEE of a host computer system is under attack from a second process executing on the host computer system. the processing device may set a flag within a memory region of the TEE indicating that the first process is under attack. The processing device may further perform, in view of an attack response policy associated with the first process, an action responsive to detecting the event.