Intel has decided to complete the development of Software Guard Extensions (SGX), one of the main technologies of hardware data protection in server processors. The last generation of Xeon with SGX support will be Diamond Rapids. Further protection of cloud computing will be built around the Trust Domain Extensions (TDX).
According to Intel's new strategy, the rejection of SGX will be gradual. The company will continue to support the released platforms and provide security updates until the early 2030s. Enterprise customers will have several years to switch, but after Diamond Rapids, the new generations of Xeon server processors will no longer support the previous technology.
SGX appeared as a way to protect particularly important fragments of programs even from the operating system and server administrator. The processor creates isolated areas of memory, which are called enclaves, and allows you to access their contents only to trusted code. This mechanism allows you to store cryptographic keys, process confidential information and perform sensitive operations without direct access from the rest of the software environment.
The main problem of SGX is the complexity of implementation. Developers have to specially adapt applications, allocate protected areas of code and take into account the limitations of the isolated environment. For small critical components, this approach is justified, but when deploying thousands of virtual servers, additional requirements complicate the development, maintenance and transfer of programs between platforms.
TDX changes the very principle of hardware insulation. Instead of individual fragments of the application, the processor protects the entire virtual machine together with the operating system and programs running inside. A hypervisor that manages virtual servers, as well as a basic physical host system, should not access the secure memory of the guest machine. For cloud providers, this approach allows for existing software without deep recycling.
The difference is particularly noticeable in large cloud infrastructures, where many clients use shared physical servers. TDX allows you to separate the calculations of one tenant from the infrastructure administrator and neighboring virtual machines at the hardware level. Protection is valid directly during the processing of information, when the usual encryption of disks and network traffic no longer solves the problem of access to data in RAM.
Switching to TDX does not mean that the technology provides absolute security or completely repeats the capabilities of SGX. Enclaves allow you to isolate a relatively small section of code, while a secure virtual machine includes a full operating system and applications. Organizations that use SGX to test specific software components will have to review the protection architecture and make sure the new model meets the same requirements.
Intel intends to develop TDX in several directions. TDX Connect technology should expand the trusted environment to share data with connected devices, including computing accelerators. The company is also working on supporting post-quantum cryptography and is improving certification mechanisms that allow cryptographic checking the state of the protected computing environment before transmitting confidential information to it.
A separate direction is connected with artificial intelligence. Corporate AI agents access internal documents, databases and business processes, so cloud platforms have to protect not only stored information, but also calculations with its participation. Intel has partnered with Nvidia to align the hardware protection mechanisms of central and GPUs in the processing of sensitive data and the operation of large language models.
TDX has already moved beyond pilot projects. Technology-based cloud services offer Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Volcano Cloud. Support is also developed by Red Hat, Canonical and VMware, which simplifies the deployment of protected virtual machines in enterprise infrastructures. For Intel, the distribution of TDX among cloud providers has become one of the main arguments in favor of abandoning the further development of SGX.
The manufacturer links the new strategy and to the requirements for control of corporate data. Placing information in a particular country does not guarantee confidentiality in itself, as infrastructure administrators may have broad technical authority. Hardware insulation reduces access capabilities from maintenance staff and host software, although it does not eliminate the need to protect applications and control access to the data itself.
For developers of SGX-systems Intel has already prepared recommendations for the transition to TDX and technologies of confidential containers. There are no universal automatic replacement of enclaves with virtual machines, since the application architecture and mechanisms for checking the trusted environment differ. The company offers to evaluate the dependence on SGX in advance, choose the appropriate method of migration and check the protection after transfer.
Intel’s solution is actually completing the development of SGX as the main direction of server computing protection, although existing systems will be able to work for several more years. The market is gradually moving from the isolation of individual software components to the hardware protection of entire virtual environments. For cloud providers, scalability and compatibility become a priority, and for users of corporate services, the ability to process sensitive data on other people's servers with less dependence on trust in their administrators.
According to Intel's new strategy, the rejection of SGX will be gradual. The company will continue to support the released platforms and provide security updates until the early 2030s. Enterprise customers will have several years to switch, but after Diamond Rapids, the new generations of Xeon server processors will no longer support the previous technology.
SGX appeared as a way to protect particularly important fragments of programs even from the operating system and server administrator. The processor creates isolated areas of memory, which are called enclaves, and allows you to access their contents only to trusted code. This mechanism allows you to store cryptographic keys, process confidential information and perform sensitive operations without direct access from the rest of the software environment.
The main problem of SGX is the complexity of implementation. Developers have to specially adapt applications, allocate protected areas of code and take into account the limitations of the isolated environment. For small critical components, this approach is justified, but when deploying thousands of virtual servers, additional requirements complicate the development, maintenance and transfer of programs between platforms.
TDX changes the very principle of hardware insulation. Instead of individual fragments of the application, the processor protects the entire virtual machine together with the operating system and programs running inside. A hypervisor that manages virtual servers, as well as a basic physical host system, should not access the secure memory of the guest machine. For cloud providers, this approach allows for existing software without deep recycling.
The difference is particularly noticeable in large cloud infrastructures, where many clients use shared physical servers. TDX allows you to separate the calculations of one tenant from the infrastructure administrator and neighboring virtual machines at the hardware level. Protection is valid directly during the processing of information, when the usual encryption of disks and network traffic no longer solves the problem of access to data in RAM.
Switching to TDX does not mean that the technology provides absolute security or completely repeats the capabilities of SGX. Enclaves allow you to isolate a relatively small section of code, while a secure virtual machine includes a full operating system and applications. Organizations that use SGX to test specific software components will have to review the protection architecture and make sure the new model meets the same requirements.
Intel intends to develop TDX in several directions. TDX Connect technology should expand the trusted environment to share data with connected devices, including computing accelerators. The company is also working on supporting post-quantum cryptography and is improving certification mechanisms that allow cryptographic checking the state of the protected computing environment before transmitting confidential information to it.
A separate direction is connected with artificial intelligence. Corporate AI agents access internal documents, databases and business processes, so cloud platforms have to protect not only stored information, but also calculations with its participation. Intel has partnered with Nvidia to align the hardware protection mechanisms of central and GPUs in the processing of sensitive data and the operation of large language models.
TDX has already moved beyond pilot projects. Technology-based cloud services offer Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Volcano Cloud. Support is also developed by Red Hat, Canonical and VMware, which simplifies the deployment of protected virtual machines in enterprise infrastructures. For Intel, the distribution of TDX among cloud providers has become one of the main arguments in favor of abandoning the further development of SGX.
The manufacturer links the new strategy and to the requirements for control of corporate data. Placing information in a particular country does not guarantee confidentiality in itself, as infrastructure administrators may have broad technical authority. Hardware insulation reduces access capabilities from maintenance staff and host software, although it does not eliminate the need to protect applications and control access to the data itself.
For developers of SGX-systems Intel has already prepared recommendations for the transition to TDX and technologies of confidential containers. There are no universal automatic replacement of enclaves with virtual machines, since the application architecture and mechanisms for checking the trusted environment differ. The company offers to evaluate the dependence on SGX in advance, choose the appropriate method of migration and check the protection after transfer.
Intel’s solution is actually completing the development of SGX as the main direction of server computing protection, although existing systems will be able to work for several more years. The market is gradually moving from the isolation of individual software components to the hardware protection of entire virtual environments. For cloud providers, scalability and compatibility become a priority, and for users of corporate services, the ability to process sensitive data on other people's servers with less dependence on trust in their administrators.
