I quite like this term 'confidential computing' instead of 'encrypted' or 'private'. While I realize the terms are not replaceable in most instances, I think this may drive the point forward in...
I quite like this term 'confidential computing' instead of 'encrypted' or 'private'.
While I realize the terms are not replaceable in most instances, I think this may drive the point forward in most arguments and discussions on privacy for both the lay person, and tech fanatic.
Actually, even that's not enough - you have to execute encrypted code in the processor, otherwise it's still possible (though hard as fuck) for other VMs using the same CPU you are using to get at...
Actually, even that's not enough - you have to execute encrypted code in the processor, otherwise it's still possible (though hard as fuck) for other VMs using the same CPU you are using to get at the data in the processor's cache. Executing code while it's still encrypted does come at a performance hit (10%-ish) but it can be done.
This is the most amazing, exciting, and terrifying development I've ever heard. I'm going to sit with my head between my knees for a few seconds before reading these articles.
This is the most amazing, exciting, and terrifying development I've ever heard. I'm going to sit with my head between my knees for a few seconds before reading these articles.
I'm admittedly not as knowledgeable about crypto and security as I would like to be, so I'm having a bit of a tough time understanding what aspect of this would be terrifying. Would you mind...
I'm admittedly not as knowledgeable about crypto and security as I would like to be, so I'm having a bit of a tough time understanding what aspect of this would be terrifying. Would you mind enlightening me?
I'm not a cryptograpy expert either, so I might not be correct about this myself. But to put things simply, it changes the domain of which things can be done within the realm of encrypted data....
I'm not a cryptograpy expert either, so I might not be correct about this myself. But to put things simply, it changes the domain of which things can be done within the realm of encrypted data. The exciting thing about this is that it means that data you need to change can be changed while it's still encrypted.
The thing that is terrifying about this is that it does so by allowing you to execute code within the encrypted environment itself. That means that more and more parts of a given computerized system can hidden away in such a way that our most advanced analysis tools cannot make sense of. Right now, if you can get any arbitrary binary blob and you know the archetechture it is designed to run on, you can disassemble it and experts will be able to tell you what it does and how it does it. With HE, that binary blob is now gibberish unless you know how to decrypt it.
@Amarok let me know how far off I am on my understanding here.
That's the size of it - you can have a true black box computer that no one and nothing can ever access unless they have the proper cryptographic keys. Fast forward fifty years and every single...
That's the size of it - you can have a true black box computer that no one and nothing can ever access unless they have the proper cryptographic keys.
Fast forward fifty years and every single cloud compute instance could be a black box. One could be looking at an overview of one's mega-deatacenter running tens of thousands of VMs, and have no fucking clue what any of them are doing, only who the clients are.
Governments and law enforcement are definitely not going to like this. :P
Perhaps I'm not seeing something here, but isn't the point of homomorphic encryption that it's essentially write-only and prevents reads? Wouldn't an executable require being read, which would...
Perhaps I'm not seeing something here, but isn't the point of homomorphic encryption that it's essentially write-only and prevents reads? Wouldn't an executable require being read, which would mean that either the encryption is only obfuscating the underlying data or that you have the decryption key available? I can see how a predetermined set of data transformations could be used to operate on encrypted ciphertext, but not how you could feasibly perform any action that requires knowing anything about the underlying unencrypted data.
The idea of a homomorphically encrypted executable just seems like a fundamentally incompatible concept to me. Again, though, with the acknowledgement that I'm still not well-versed on the subject.
I quite like this term 'confidential computing' instead of 'encrypted' or 'private'.
While I realize the terms are not replaceable in most instances, I think this may drive the point forward in most arguments and discussions on privacy for both the lay person, and tech fanatic.
In 2020, it's not enough to secure your data on the disk and network, you'll need to lock it down in memory as well. Here's how you'll be doing it.
Actually, even that's not enough - you have to execute encrypted code in the processor, otherwise it's still possible (though hard as fuck) for other VMs using the same CPU you are using to get at the data in the processor's cache. Executing code while it's still encrypted does come at a performance hit (10%-ish) but it can be done.
This is called homomorphic encryption and it's something of a new fish in the sea. Intel, AMD, and IBM are already moving their processors in this direction. Kinda interesting that they each chose a different way to get there, too.
I'm keeping an eye on homomorphic encryption. Don't be surprised if you see a story about it from yours truly.
This is the most amazing, exciting, and terrifying development I've ever heard. I'm going to sit with my head between my knees for a few seconds before reading these articles.
I'm admittedly not as knowledgeable about crypto and security as I would like to be, so I'm having a bit of a tough time understanding what aspect of this would be terrifying. Would you mind enlightening me?
I'm not a cryptograpy expert either, so I might not be correct about this myself. But to put things simply, it changes the domain of which things can be done within the realm of encrypted data. The exciting thing about this is that it means that data you need to change can be changed while it's still encrypted.
The thing that is terrifying about this is that it does so by allowing you to execute code within the encrypted environment itself. That means that more and more parts of a given computerized system can hidden away in such a way that our most advanced analysis tools cannot make sense of. Right now, if you can get any arbitrary binary blob and you know the archetechture it is designed to run on, you can disassemble it and experts will be able to tell you what it does and how it does it. With HE, that binary blob is now gibberish unless you know how to decrypt it.
@Amarok let me know how far off I am on my understanding here.
That's the size of it - you can have a true black box computer that no one and nothing can ever access unless they have the proper cryptographic keys.
Fast forward fifty years and every single cloud compute instance could be a black box. One could be looking at an overview of one's mega-deatacenter running tens of thousands of VMs, and have no fucking clue what any of them are doing, only who the clients are.
Governments and law enforcement are definitely not going to like this. :P
Perhaps I'm not seeing something here, but isn't the point of homomorphic encryption that it's essentially write-only and prevents reads? Wouldn't an executable require being read, which would mean that either the encryption is only obfuscating the underlying data or that you have the decryption key available? I can see how a predetermined set of data transformations could be used to operate on encrypted ciphertext, but not how you could feasibly perform any action that requires knowing anything about the underlying unencrypted data.
The idea of a homomorphically encrypted executable just seems like a fundamentally incompatible concept to me. Again, though, with the acknowledgement that I'm still not well-versed on the subject.
Yeah, the implications are... far reaching, to say the least.