G-Core Labs Public Cloud Supports Intel SGX Confidential Computing Environment

G-Core Labs, an international provider of cloud and edge solutions based in Luxembourg, has announced that it is supporting Intel®SGX Confidential Computing environment in its public cloud.

Powered by Intel® Software Guard Extensions, companies from various industries and development teams already using G-Core Labs’ virtual machines and bare metal servers can significantly enhance data security by using the new hardware for cloud platforms created by the Intel corporation. Intel®SGX was integrated into the G-Core Labs cloud through Scontain and its SCONE platform.

While many technologies are available to secure data, Confidential Computing allows to protect data while its being processed using Intel®SGX. Intel®SGX offers hardware-based memory encryption that isolates specific application code and data in memory. It allows users level code to allocate private regions of memory called enclaves which are designed to be protected from processes running at a higher privilege level including operating systems, virtual machines and other processes with administrator privilege.

Vsevolod Vayner, G-Core Labs head of cloud platforms, commented: “The launch of Intel®SGX in the G-Core Labs cloud is great news for companies from various industries and organisations who work with sensitive data and valuable code. We’re talking primarily about the financial services industry, medicine, healthcare and retail. Developers working on video games and various media projects will also be able to appreciate the advantages of this technology. Intel® SGX provides consistency and confidentiality of computation with extra security requirements that take place on the systems where privileged processes are considered unreliable. Neither the cloud service provider, nor anyone else from the outside, can get to the encrypted area and gain access to the data stored there. Even if, let’s say, the servers were hacked”.

Christof Fetzer, Scontain’s co-founder and chief operating officer (COO), added: “The SCONE solution helps companies and organisations across the world launch apps in SGX enclaves. We’re happy about the cooperation with G-Core Labs. Our platform allows programs to be executed in protected areas so that even intruders with root access can’t steal your confidential data. When you use SCONE solutions, there’s no need to change the apps’ source code: just a recompilation is enough. Many of the apps don’t even require recompilation”.

G-Core Labs’ virtual machines and bare metal servers supporting Intel® SGX are available to users in any region where the company’s public cloud works, including Moscow, Luxembourg and other cities.