Confidential computing is gaining regulatory relevance as frameworks like NIST CSF 2.0, GDPR, DORA, NIS2, and the EU AI Act increasingly address data protection during processing — not just at rest or in transit. Hardware-backed trusted execution environments (TEEs) reduce the trusted computing base for sensitive workloads in cloud, edge, and hybrid environments. Regulators across finance, healthcare, and AI sectors are converging on the need for runtime data protection, and international standards bodies (ISO/IEC, NIST, China's GB/T) are formalizing confidential computing as a security category. Canonical positions Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with integrated support for AMD SEV-SNP and Intel TDX as a platform for deploying confidential computing at scale.
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Data in use is becoming a recognized control areaStandards are catching up with the architectureRegulation is converging on the same problemSovereignty is making runtime trust visibleHealthcare shows why data in use is importantSecure data sharing needs secure processingAI raises the stakes for data in useOther frameworks point in the same directionA new baseline for sensitive workloads194 Impressions1 Comment