Your company’s sensitive information is usually encrypted and protected while being stored or in transit. There have been, for many years, various tools available to protect your confidential data in these situations.
However, when your data is in use, it is unencrypted and located in the computer’s random-access memory. This means that unauthorized people can access your valuable information and collect or alter it. In a time of growing cyberattacks, this presents the business owner with a serious challenge. Confidential computing deals with this threat to your business.
If you are dealing with a data breach, international corporate law firm Rooney Nimmo can help you mitigate damage and protect your company’s valuable data. Call (212) 545-8022 to learn more.
Ensuring End-to-End Data Security With Confidential Computing
What is Confidential Computing and What Does it Do?
IBM’s definition of confidential computing is “a hardware-based technology that allows for the physical partitioning of memory at the server level.”
Confidential computing means data in use is protected from:
- Malicious actors who are seeking to scrape your data
- Memory dumps
- Insider threats
- Accidental disclosure
If you are in a business situation where you are collaborating with another party, you may need to share information without providing access to the underlying private data. Confidential computing allows you to achieve this safely.
How Does Confidential Computing Work?
Confidential computing protects data in use by isolating computations to a trusted execution environment (TEE). To achieve this, a secure enclave containing encrypted data is established. Access to the enclave is only allowed through an authorized program that must successfully pass TEE attestation using an encryption key. This maintains blockchain privacy.
Even then, access is not granted to the encrypted enclave memory space. So, if a device is compromised, the user cannot access anything running in TEE enclaves. This security measure maintains the integrity and confidentiality of the data.
Several enclaves can run on the same machine. The enclaves can communicate with one another, but only after passing TEE attestation. In this way, sharing information becomes very secure.
For many years the emphasis of security experts was on protecting data while not in use, leaving data vulnerable while it was being shared or transferred between systems. By enhancing the existing tools and procedures to safeguard your data while at rest or in transit, confidential computing addresses this gap in the security shield.
Users can now feel certain their confidential information is safe throughout the entire usage cycle. The established tools, techniques, and procedures, such as encryption and hashing, protect the data that is not in use.
The use of TEE’s now ensures security for your trade secrets and intellectual property while it is running. You can rest easy that outside threats or disaffected employees cannot sabotage your systems or the underlying information.
Helping Your Business Thrive
So, how does confidential computing help your business grow? You have important data that costs you time and money to acquire and is vital to your company’s ability to trade.
By filling the gap in the security around your data, confidential computing not only protects your information from threats but also allows you to profitably and securely collaborate with others on projects without disclosing any of your trade secrets.
The ability to exchange data with trusted partners and collaborators without sensitive information like formulae being visible to them allows your business to expand its practices and forge better working relationships without compromising security.
Contact Rooney Nimmo Today for a Consultation
The corporate lawyers at Rooney Nimmo have the knowledge to help you make informed choices about your confidential computing requirements or manage existing security breaches. Our flexibility and passion for solutions mean we will work with your best interests in mind. Contact us today for a consultation.
