# Sealed Computation: Abstract Requirements for Mechanisms to Support Trustworthy Cloud Computing

## TL;DR

This paper introduces sealed computation, a hardware-based mechanism combined with an auditing role, to enable trustworthy cloud data processing without relying on trust in a single entity.

## Contribution

It proposes the concept of sealed computation and an auditing role, outlining their technical and procedural requirements for secure cloud computing.

## Key findings

- Defines sealed computation as a tamper-proof hardware container.
- Introduces an auditing role to verify system integrity.
- Discusses practical application of these concepts.

## Abstract

In cloud computing, data processing is delegated to a remote party for efficiency and flexibility reasons. A practical user requirement usually is that the confidentiality and integrity of data processing needs to be protected. In the common scenarios of cloud computing today, this can only be achieved by assuming that the remote party does not in any form act maliciously. In this paper, we propose an approach that avoids having to trust a single entity. Our approach is based on two concepts: (1) the technical abstraction of sealed computation, i.e., a technical mechanism to confine the processing of data within a tamper-proof hardware container, and (2) the additional role of an auditing party that itself cannot add functionality to the system but is able to check whether the system (including the mechanism for sealed computation) works as expected. We discuss the abstract technical and procedural requirements of these concepts and explain how they can be applied in practice.