Trusted compute patterns

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Problem

How to ensure that the software runs on a trusted system.

Context

For the cloud service consumer, there is a need to confirm their software is running on trusted hardware. From the CSP perspective, there is a need to confirm that the software allowed on their hardware is authentic. Hardware should have the capability to prevent any unsigned software from being run on the compute infrastructure. Malware and rootkits try to bypass initial security checks and try to launch themselves even before the operating system is launched. In this model, we look at how the basic input/output system (BIOS) on a cloud-based server environment can be protected from malicious code.

Solution

The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) has developed and promoted a technology called trusted computing (TC). The key idea of TC is to provide hardware control over which software can be permitted to run on it. The mechanisms required to support...