Trusted Execution Environment Launching Through Initial TEE Validation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing TEE implementations face challenges such as increased deployment latency and inefficiencies due to platform-specific validation and communication overhead, leading to complexity and resource requirements, especially when deploying across untrusted networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a trusted execution establishment component that configures and validates an initial instance TEE, which then launches additional TEEs without tenant involvement, using cryptographic key data provided by the tenant, thereby reducing network traffic and resource requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If platform-specific validation methods are used for each TEE instance, then security validation is ensured, but deployment latency increases and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs platform-specific validation and attestation for the initial TEE instance in advance before bulk deployment. This preliminary validation establishes a trusted foundation that can then be replicated or referenced for subsequent TEE instances, avoiding repeated validation overhead and reducing overall deployment latency while maintaining security requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The deployment process is segmented into two phases: (1) initial TEE instance validation with full platform-specific attestation, and (2) bulk deployment of additional TEE instances using the established trust relationship. This segmentation allows the complex validation to be performed only once, while subsequent deployments leverage the initial validation results.
2Reliability
If tenant involvement is required for each TEE launch, then security control is maintained, but network traffic increases and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The initial TEE instance is configured to autonomously validate and launch additional TEE instances without requiring continuous tenant involvement or network communication. The initial instance acts as a self-service trusted authority that can independently provision subsequent TEEs, eliminating the need for repeated tenant-host network interactions while maintaining security through the established trust relationship.
Solution Approach 2:
The initial TEE instance serves as an intermediary between the tenant and subsequent TEE instances. It receives the initial security credentials from the tenant and then mediates the launch of additional TEEs using those credentials, thereby eliminating the need for direct network communication between the tenant and the host for each subsequent launch.
3Reliability
If cryptographic key data is transmitted over network for each TEE, then security is maintained, but network communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
Cryptographic key data is transmitted and established only once during the initial TEE setup phase, before bulk deployment. The initial TEE instance stores and manages these credentials locally, eliminating the need for repeated network transmission of sensitive cryptographic data during subsequent TEE launches, thereby reducing network overhead while maintaining security.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a method comprising: receiving, by a processing device of a first computing device, a first request from a second computing device to establish a first trusted execution environment (TEE) in the first computing device; establishing the first TEE in the first computing device, wherein the first TEE comprises an encrypted memory area and executable code; receiving, by the processing device, a second request to establish a second TEE in the first computing device; establishing, by the first TEE, the second TEE in the first computing device, wherein the second TEE comprises a second executable code; receiving, by the first TEE, cryptographic key data from the second computing device; validating, by the first TEE, the second TEE; providing, by the first TEE, the cryptographic key data to the second TEE; and causing, by the processing device, the second TEE to execute, using the cryptographic key data, the second executable code.