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Confidential Computing

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Definition

Technology that encrypts data while it's being processed, protecting it from access even by cloud providers and system administrators. Like having a locked safe that can perform calculations without opening.

Real-World Example

Healthcare providers use confidential computing to analyze sensitive patient data in the cloud while ensuring no one, including cloud staff, can access the raw information.

Related Terms

Cloud Provider Equivalencies

All four providers offer hardware-backed Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) that isolate and encrypt data in use. AWS Nitro Enclaves creates an isolated enclave attached to an EC2 instance; Azure and GCP provide confidential VM/containers options using TEEs; OCI provides confidential VMs with memory encryption and isolation features depending on shape/platform.

AWS
AWS Nitro Enclaves
AZ
Azure Confidential Computing (e.g., Azure Confidential VMs, Azure Confidential Containers)
GCP
Confidential VM
OCI
OCI Confidential Computing (Confidential VMs)

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