Bare Metal infrastructure poses two primary concerns for data confidentiality and security: shared resource vulnerabilities and physical access risks.
Shared Resource Vulnerabilities
Bare Metal infrastructure has faced criticism due to the inherent vulnerabilities associated with shared resources. In a multi-tenant environment, where multiple customers share the same physical hardware, there is a risk of data leakage and unauthorized access. Without proper isolation mechanisms, one customer's workload can potentially access or interfere with the resources and data of other customers. This vulnerability becomes particularly concerning for organizations that handle sensitive or regulated data, as it compromises data confidentiality and violates compliance requirements.
Physical Access Risks
Another critique of Bare Metal infrastructure revolves around the risks associated with physical access. In scenarios where the infrastructure is located outside the organization's premises or managed by a third-party provider, the physical security of the hardware becomes a concern. Unauthorized access to the physical servers can lead to data breaches, tampering, or even theft of sensitive information. This risk is particularly pertinent for organizations operating in industries with stringent security and privacy requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government sectors.
Solution
To address these concerns, enclaive leverages hardware secure enclave technology to enhance data confidentiality and security in Bare Metal environments. This solution focuses on providing strong isolation and secure execution of workloads, mitigating the risks associated with shared resources and physical access.
Our solution has been meticulously designed to simplify the deployment of secure workloads on Bare Metal infrastructure while ensuring straightforward operation and management. Our primary objective was to incorporate existing practices and workflows familiar to DevOps professionals and engineers while leveraging hardware secure enclave technology to enhance security. The key components of this solution are as follows:
Secure Execution Enclave
At the core of our solution lies the Secure Execution Enclave, which utilizes hardware secure enclave technology to provide a secure and isolated execution environment for workloads. This enclave ensures that customer data and applications are protected from unauthorized access and interference by other tenants sharing the same physical hardware. By leveraging hardware-based security features, Secure Execution Enclave provides strong confidentiality guarantees for sensitive workloads.
Access Control and Audit
Our solution incorporates robust access control mechanisms to prevent unauthorized physical access to the Bare Metal infrastructure. It includes stringent identity verification protocols, surveillance systems, and comprehensive audit logs to monitor and track any unauthorized physical access attempts. These measures ensure the integrity of the infrastructure and reduce the risks associated with unauthorized tampering or data theft.
To ensure simplicity for our customers (engineers, DevOps), we have adopted the following role model:
The Service Provider offers a secure Bare Metal infrastructure, comprising:
Physical servers equipped with hardware secure enclave technology.
Stringent physical security measures, including access control and surveillance systems.
The customer's responsibilities include:
Deploying and provisioning their workloads within the Secure Execution Enclave provided by the Service Provider.
Adhering to best practices for secure workload configuration and deployment.
Ensuring proper access controls and monitoring within their own applications.
It is important to note that the security and confidentiality of workloads on Bare Metal infrastructure rely on the utilization of the Secure Execution Enclave and adherence to secure deployment practices, which are integral to the effectiveness of the solution.