Confidential computing’s core trust mechanism is broken. The fix may not exist


Vendors are trying to position “confidential computing” as the technical backbone of Europe’s sovereign cloud ambitions. But new research shows that a security protocol used to prove cryptographic trust in the system may have a fundamental architectural flaw.

Confidential computing rests on a mechanism called remote attestation, in which a server cryptographically proves to a client that it is running inside a genuine, unmodified Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) before any sensitive data changes hands. Intel’s product pages promise TDX will “add safeguards to data sovereignty and governance.” Google Cloud describes its confidential computing infrastructure as offering “full, auditable control over access to customer data.”

Read more…
Source:  The Register


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • ‘Zero-Click’ MacOS Exploit Chain Uses Microsoft Office Macros

    August 6, 2020

    A new “zero-click” MacOS exploit chain could allow attackers to deliver malware to MacOS users using a Microsoft Office document with macros. The attack bypasses security measures that both Microsoft and Apple have put in place to protect MacOS users from malicious macros. The exploit chain, revealed by Patrick Wardle, principal security researcher with Jamf, at ...

  • Hackers can remotely hijack enterprise, healthcare Temi robots

    August 6, 2020

    Robots used in hospitals and care homes to assist patients and the vulnerable can be fully hijacked by cyberattackers. On Thursday at Black Hat USA, McAfee’s Advanced Threat Research (ATR) team disclosed new research into the robots, in which remotely-exploitable vulnerabilities were uncovered, potentially leading to mobile, audio, and video tampering on the hospital floor. The robot ...

  • Using Botnets to Manipulate Energy Markets for Big Profits

    August 6, 2020

    Researchers are warning that a new class of botnets could be marshaled and used to manipulate energy markets via zombie armies of power-hungry connected devices such as air conditioners, heaters, dryers and digital thermostats. A coordinated attack could cause an energy stock index to predictably go up or down – creating an opportunity for a ...

  • Cisco alert: Four high-severity flaws in routers, switches and AnyConnect VPN for Windows

    August 6, 2020

    Cisco is urging customers to update small business switches, its DNA Center software, routers with its StarOS software, and its AnyConnect Secure Mobility VPN client for Windows. Cisco has disclosed a bug in the IPv6 packet processing engine of several Cisco Small Business Smart and Managed Switches that could allow a remote attacker without credentials to ...

  • Water Nue Phishing Campaign Targets C-Suite’s Office 365 Accounts

    August 6, 2020

    A series of ongoing business email compromise (BEC) campaigns that uses spear-phishing schemes on Office 365 accounts has been seen targeting business executives of over 1,000 companies across the world since March 2020. The recent campaigns target senior positions in the United States and Canada. The fraudsters, whom we named “Water Nue,” primarily target accounts of ...

  • Linux Spyware Stack Ties Together 5 Chinese APTs

    August 5, 2020

    A stack of Linux backdoor malware used for espionage, compiled dynamically and customizable to specific targets, is being used as a shared resource by five different Chinese-language APT groups, according to researchers. According to an analysis from BlackBerry released at Black Hat 2020 on Wednesday, those five groups have turned out to all be splinters of ...