Confidential Computing as a Base for Data Clean Rooms

Protecting confidentiality is critical for businesses seeking a competitive advantage. This article explores how Confidential Computing enhances data security and privacy while enabling collaboration among multiple partners.

By leveraging this technology, organizations can not only safeguard sensitive information but also unlock new insights and foster innovation across various industries, all while complying with stringent regulations and building customer trust.

Understanding Confidential Computing

Confidential Computing brings significant opportunities to multiple industries by addressing the mounting challenges of data security in the contexts of artificial intelligence, data collaboration, and cloud computing. Data exists in three states: in transit, at rest, and in use (being processed). Confidential Computing specifically focuses on the protection of data in the latter state, performing computations at the hardware level.

Security at Its Core

We know that security is only as strong as the layers beneath it, so focusing security solutions on the lowest layers reduces vulnerability to potential risks at any point in a system’s lifecycle. The goal is to create secure environments where sensitive data can be manipulated without being accessible to other operators such as service providers or cloud providers.

The Role of Enclaves in Confidential Computing

As part of confidential computing, we can set up enclaves (groups of security-relevant instructions) in which storage encryption and isolation prevent access to the content from outside. The data sent to this enclave is encrypted with a key that is only known to the provider of the data and the enclave, so that the third-party processor has no access.

Programmable Enclaves

Enclaves are programmable and can process data without direct access, provided they receive the expected input format. This allows algorithms to operate securely on data while maintaining confidentiality.

Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)

The special software and hardware used by Confidential Computing where enclaves are defined is known as Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) which are environments that provide a level of security by following three main properties:

  • Data confidentiality: Unauthorized persons cannot view the data while it is being used in the TEE

  • Data integrity: Unauthorized persons cannot add, remove or change data while it is being used in the TEE

  • Code integrity: Unauthorized persons cannot add, remove or change the code that is executed in the TEE.

The algorithm used on the enclaves performs its tasks in a clean, inaccessible environment between the parties that synchronize the data so that they are isolated during use.

Ensuring Trust with Attestation

With this technology comes the need to ensure that we are dealing with trusted providers of TEEs to whom we will be sending our data. Before sending sensitive data, the owners of the information can provide a “proof” known as attestation.

Attestation for sensitive data processing is the process by which the provider hosting the TEE can confirm to its users that they are sending data to a trusted environment and that the code will work as intended through a cryptographically signed proof. A full attestation is used and all components of the TEE are remotely verifiable.

Overcoming Marketing Challenges with Data Clean Rooms

As for marketing, insufficient first-party data and the elimination of third-party cookies would make marketing and targeting less accurate and efficient, negatively impacting the return on ad spend. The concept of data cleansing rooms is an example of using confidential computing technologies to overcome these challenges.

Closing notes

Focusing on protection and confidentiality while combining data can unlock greater competitive advantages for businesses. Confidential Computing lays the groundwork for secure environments where sensitive data can be manipulated without exposure.

This hardware-based technology employs TEEs that guarantee data confidentiality, integrity, and code integrity. Furthermore, it provides interested parties with cryptographically signed proof, ensuring that data is used as intended by the designated recipients.

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