generated: '2026-09-05'
method: searched
source: https://github.com/confidential-computing/glossary/blob/main/glossary.md
vocabulary:
  name: Confidential Computing Consortium Glossary
  description: The CCC Glossary is a community-driven resource demystifying confidential computing terminology,
    published by the Confidential Computing Consortium in its own GitHub organization. Terms and definitions
    below are reproduced verbatim from the consortium's glossary.md; the linked resources are the citations
    the CCC attached to each term. The upstream repository was archived on GitHub in 2024 and remains
    public.
  version: '2024-06-26'
  upstream:
    repo: https://github.com/confidential-computing/glossary
    file: glossary.md
    archived: true
    companion: https://github.com/confidential-computing/glossary/blob/main/term_specification_matrix.md
  term_count: 11
  terms:
  - term: Confidential Computing
    definition: The protection of data in use by performing computation in a hardware-based, attested
      Trusted Execution Environment.
    resources:
    - label: CCC
      url: https://confidentialcomputing.io
  - term: Confidential Payload
    definition: A set of code and data specifically designed to be executed within Trusted Execution Environments
      (TEEs) while maintaining strict confidentiality and integrity.
    resources: []
  - term: Workload Identity
    definition: Unique identity assigned to software workloads for authentication and access management
      across services and resources.
    resources:
    - label: Microsoft Learn
      url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/workload-id/workload-identities-overview
  - term: Remote Attestation
    definition: A process whereby a system produces information about itself (typically cryptographically-backed)
      and another party verifies that information, allowing decisions to be made about what types of trust
      relationships are appropriate to the first system.
    resources:
    - label: IETF RFC 9334
      url: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9334
    - label: CCC Blog
      url: https://confidentialcomputing.io/2023/04/06/why-is-attestation-required-for-confidential-computing/
  - term: Enclave
    definition: A secure area of a processor chip that ensures code and data loaded inside are protected
      from access or tampering by other software, including the operating system.
    resources:
    - label: CCC
      url: https://confidentialcomputing.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/CCC-A-Technical-Analysis-of-Confidential-Computing-v1.3_unlocked.pdf
  - term: TEE (Trusted Execution Environment)
    definition: An environment that provides a level of assurance of data confidentiality, integrity,
      and code integrity by preventing unauthorized entities from viewing, altering, or tampering with
      data and code in use within the TEE.
    resources:
    - label: CCC
      url: https://confidentialcomputing.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/CCC-A-Technical-Analysis-of-Confidential-Computing-v1.3_unlocked.pdf
  - term: TCB (Trusted Computing Base)
    definition: A set of components that can be known and defined, evaluated and verified by a trusting
      party or its agents, expected to continue in the same state, and used as the foundation for other
      services or systems. This represents the critical security components including hardware, firmware,
      and software.
    resources:
    - label: Wikipedia
      url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_computing_base
    - label: Bursell, Mike (2021) Trust in Computer Systems and the Cloud
      url: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119695158
    - label: NIST
      url: https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/trusted_computing_base
    - label: Microsoft Azure
      url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/confidential-computing/trusted-compute-base
  - term: Memory Isolation
    definition: Security feature preventing unauthorized access to data in memory.
    resources:
    - label: Microsoft Azure
      url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/confidential-computing/choose-confidential-containers-offerings
  - term: Measurements
    definition: Process of assessing the state of a system or components to ensure integrity.
    resources:
    - label: NIST
      url: https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/roots_of_trust
  - term: Root of Trust
    definition: A static component in a system whereby an endorsing authority allows trustors to assume
      trust in the system in which the anchor is contained. Trust in the root of trust is assumed, based
      on the endorsing authority, rather than derived.
    resources:
    - label: Wikipedia on Trust Anchor
      url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_anchor
    - label: Bursell, Mike (2021) Trust in Computer Systems and the Cloud
      url: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119695158
  - term: Attestation Verification Service
    definition: Services that verify the integrity and authenticity of attestations in secure computing
      environments, playing a critical role in establishing trust.
    resources:
    - label: Azure Attestation
      url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/attestation/overview
    - label: Red Hat on Confidential Computing
      url: https://www.redhat.com
    - label: Veraison Project on GitHub
      url: https://github.com/veraison