Enabling Hardware Security Modules for Confidential Computing
summary
IBM Secure Execution for Linux on IBM Z enables virtual machines to safely use Crypto Express HSMs by creating a firmware-enforced binding between a guest and a specific HSM, adding an association secret into an encrypted attestation request and checking a master key verification pattern to prevent key theft, replay, or malicious HSM substitution. The solution supports up to 85 virtual HSMs per card, uses kernel drivers and Rust tools to generate sealed requests, enforces associations and resets on reassign, and integrates remote attestation and encrypted guest images.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00HSMs and confidential computing
- 5:24Why use Hardware Security Modules in practice
- 11:33HSM attack scenarios in virtualization
- 14:27IBM Z HSMs and virtualization
- 20:12Binding HSMs to guests
- 23:28Double theft of HSMs and keys
- 27:46Transmitting secrets to firmware
- 33:08HSM use cases in confidential computing
- 39:57Preventing misuse of secret requests
- 44:15HSM challenges in virtualization
- 44:40Q&A on attestation and HSMs
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