Using innovative instructions to create trustworthy software solutions

TLDR

Software developers struggle to keep data confidential, as even rigorous design can leave secrets exposed by a single flaw in privileged code written by thousands of developers worldwide. Intel’s new security technology lets developers maintain control over sensitive code and data by creating trusted domains within applications, and this paper demonstrates its use in lab exercises for enterprise rights management, video chat, and trusted financial transactions while outlining design patterns for building additional trusted software solutions. The technology creates trusted domains that protect local processing and enable secure communication with cloud services, illustrating how to safeguard critical information during execution and at rest.

Abstract

Software developers face a number of challenges when creating applications that attempt to keep important data confidential. Even with diligent attention paid to correct software design and implementation practices, secrets can still be exposed through a single flaw in any of the privileged code on the platform, code which may have been written by thousands of developers from hundreds of organizations throughout the world. Intel is developing innovative security technology which provides the ability for software developers to maintain control of the security of sensitive code and data by creating trusted domains within applications to protect critical information during execution and at rest. This paper will describe how this technology has been effectively used in lab exercises to protect private information in applications including enterprise rights management, video chat, trusted financial transactions, and others. Examples will include both protection of local processing and the establishment of secure communication with cloud services. It will illustrate useful software design patterns that can be followed to create many additional types of trusted software solutions.