Confidential Computing is reshaping data security by addressing a critical gap: protecting sensitive data not only at rest and in transit but also in use. This emerging technology leverages Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)—hardware-based enclaves that isolate and encrypt data during computation, ensuring privacy and integrity even in untrusted cloud environments. By reducing reliance on hypervisors or privileged software, TEEs provide cryptographic guarantees that only authorized code can access sensitive information.

Microsoft Azure’s Confidential Computing portfolio offers a variety of modern tools to implement zero-trust architectures. From Confidential Virtual Machines powered by Intel SGX and AMD SEV-SNP to containerized solutions like Confidential AKS clusters, Azure enables secure workloads across diverse use cases. Additional services such as Always Encrypted with secure enclaves in Azure SQL and Azure Key Vault Managed HSM further enhance data protection during processing. These technologies are tailored for industries like healthcare, financial services, and AI, where regulatory compliance and data sovereignty are paramount.

This talk explores the technical foundations of Confidential Computing, delving into architectural trade-offs, code-level adaptations for enclave-aware applications, and strategies to mitigate risks like side-channel attacks. Attendees will gain insights into optimizing workloads for TEEs, leveraging attestation services for runtime integrity validation, and achieving end-to-end encryption for sensitive workflows.