The Intel 80×86 processor architecture: pitfalls for secure systems
نویسندگان
چکیده
An in-depth analysis of the 80x86 processor families identi es architectural properties that may have unexpected, and undesirable, results in secure computer systems. In addition, reported implementation errors in some processor versions render them undesirable for secure systems because of potential security and reliability problems. In this paper, we discuss the imbalance in scrutiny for hardware protection mechanisms relative to software, and why this imbalance is increasingly di cult to justify as hardware complexity increases. We illustrate this di culty with examples of architectural subtleties and reported implementation errors.
منابع مشابه
Secure Processors Part I: Background, Taxonomy for Secure Enclaves and Intel SGX Architecture
This manuscript is the first in a two part survey and analysis of the state of the art in secure processor systems, with a specific focus on remote software attestation and software isolation. This manuscript first examines the relevant concepts in computer architecture and cryptography, and then surveys attack vectors and existing processor systems claiming security for remote computation and/...
متن کاملAn Analysis of the Intel 80x86 Security Architecture and Implementations
| An in-depth analysis of the 80x86 processor families identi es architectural properties that may have unexpected, and undesirable, results in secure computer systems. In addition, reported implementation errors in some processor versions render them undesirable for secure systems because of potential security and reliability problems. In this paper, we discuss the imbalance in scrutiny for ha...
متن کاملSecure Processors Part II: Intel SGX Security Analysis and MIT Sanctum Architecture
This manuscript is the second in a two part survey and analysis of the state of the art in secure processor systems, with a specific focus on remote software attestation and software isolation. The first part established the taxonomy and prerequisite concepts relevant to an examination of the state of the art in trusted remote computation: attested software isolation containers (enclaves). This...
متن کاملHow Intel® Itanium® Processor Enables Superior System Security
The architecture of the Intel® Itanium® processor was specifically designed not only to provide unprecedented computational advantages, but also to enable development of systems with substantially greater security than is possible with other existing and evolving processor architectures. The security advantages offered by the Intel Itanium processor architecture are real, and are urgently neede...
متن کاملIntel Virtualization Technology: Hardware Support for Efficient Processor Virtualization
Virtualizing the physical resources of a computing system to improve sharing and utilization has been done for decades. Virtualization had once been confined to specialized server and mainframe systems, but improvements in the performance of platforms based on Intel technology now allow those platforms to efficiently support virtualization. However, the IA-32 and Itanium processor architectures...
متن کامل