Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu and the provider of open source security, support, and services, is announcing a strategic collaboration with Intel, aimed at closing the gap between ensuring data security at run-time and leveraging open computing systems. Joining in on the Confidential Computing movement, this collaboration will enable customers to always have access to an Intel-optimized Ubuntu build that delivers security by default.
Intel Trust Domain Extensions (Intel TDX)—the company’s latest addition to its confidential computing portfolio—innovates on run-time security in virtualized environments by establishing secure and isolated virtual machines (also known as trust domains, or TDs). TDs are then protected from a myriad of software threats, including those that come from virtual-machine managers or other non-trust domain software on the platform, according to Intel. This innovation from Intel forwards silicon-level technology that drives security while ensuring that it keeps pace with software enablement.
Canonical helps to deliver wide-spread silicon security, allowing customers that acquire the 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor to easily deploy an Ubuntu host for Intel TDX with the kernel, Libvirt QEMU, and Trust Domain Virtual Firmware (TDVF), and an Ubuntu guest Intel TDX VM.
“Intel has a well-established and collaborative relationship with Canonical, and we work closely to enable our security capabilities within the Ubuntu operating environment,” Mark Skarpness, vice president and general manager of system software engineering, Intel. “Through our collaboration, Canonical now offers an Intel-optimized version of their enterprise distributions that incorporates all the latest Intel TDX architectural elements and innovations in 5th Gen Xeon Scalable processors. This will provide customers with the confidence that their most sensitive data is more secure, while also helping maintain privacy and promote compliance.“
This collaboration between Canonical and Intel will continue to bridge the gap between silicon technology and the software ecosystem. Additionally, this partnership brings the availability of Ubuntu-based Intel TDX on several major public cloud providers, including Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
“We are excited to extend our long-standing partnership with Intel into Intel TDX! This will enable 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors’ users to start building their confidential computing infrastructure with Ubuntu today, and benefit from its strong hardware-rooted confidentiality and integrity security guarantees”, said Cindy Goldberg, VP of silicon alliance, Canonical.
To learn more about this strategic collaboration, please visit https://canonical.com/ or https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/homepage.html.