Assured Execution Environments (AEEs)

A New Category of Secure Compute: Verifiable, Deterministic, and Private Execution for Any Linux Workload

Overview

Assured Execution Environments (AEEs) are a new category of secure compute that fundamentally changes how we think about verifiable execution.

Unlike Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), which rely on proprietary hardware trust chains and vendor attestations, AEEs deliver verifiable execution through keyless cryptographic receipts. The receipt provides a cryptographic guarantee that the environment behaved exactly as declared. This includes the Linux kernel, the distribution, and the user workloads.

AEEs enable organizations to run unmodified Linux applications in a fully deterministic and private execution environment, then produce portable receipts that can be verified anywhere—from mobile devices to browsers—without revealing sensitive code or data.

Why AEEs Over TEEs and HSMs?

TEEs & HSMs

Rely on proprietary hardware trust chains and vendor attestations. You must trust the hardware manufacturer and the vendor's attestation service.

AEEs

Replace vendor trust with cryptographic assurance—verifiable anywhere, anytime, by anyone. No proprietary hardware or vendor attestation services required.

Key Assurances

Determinism

Execution behaves identically for all observers, enabling reproducibility and auditability. The same inputs always produce the same outputs, making execution predictable and verifiable.

Verifiability

The environment produces cryptographic receipts that attest to its behavior. These receipts are portable and can be verified on any device, anywhere, without specialized hardware.

Privacy

Developers control what, if anything, is disclosed in the receipt. Guarantee execution correctness without revealing sensitive code, data, or operational details.

Key Features

Unmodified Linux Workloads

Run your existing Linux applications without modification. No custom SDKs, no code rewrites, no special APIs to learn. Just run your workload in an AEE.

No Hardware Dependencies

Unlike TEEs and HSMs, AEEs don't require proprietary hardware. Run on any standard Linux infrastructure and verify receipts on any device.

Portable Verification

Receipts can be verified anywhere—servers, mobile devices, browsers. No need for specialized verification infrastructure or vendor-specific tools.

Cryptographic Assurance

AEE receipts provide keyless, transparent cryptographic assurance. No vendor trust; just open-source, audited cryptography.

Privacy-Preserving

Control what information is disclosed. Guarantee execution correctness without revealing proprietary source code, data, or operational secrets.

Deterministic Execution

Execution is fully deterministic, enabling reproducible results. The same inputs always produce the same outputs, making verification straightforward.

How AEEs Work

1

Run Workload

Execute your unmodified Linux application inside an Assured Execution Environment. The AEE captures the complete execution state.

2

Generate Receipt

The AEE produces a cryptographic receipt that guarantees the execution behavior with cryptographic assurance, including the environment, inputs, and outputs.

3

Distribute Receipt

Share the receipt along with your results. The receipt is small, portable, and contains everything needed for verification.

4

Verify Anywhere

Anyone can verify the receipt on any device to confirm the execution behaved exactly as declared, without revealing sensitive details.

Use Cases

AEEs are compatible with unmodified Linux workloads and require no custom SDKs or hardware dependencies. Early use cases include:

  • Verifiable Builds: Guarantee that software was built exactly as specified, with no tampering or unauthorized modifications.
  • Verifiable Policy Enforcement: Guarantee that security, compliance, and governance policies were enforced with cryptographic assurance.

Ready to Get Started?

Learn how AEEs can transform your secure compute infrastructure.

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