Don't Trust Opaque Clouds - Cryptographically Verify Instead!

Explore the fundamentals of confidential computing and learn how to cryptographically verify cloud infrastructure security in this 40-minute conference talk from DevConf.IN 2026. Discover how hardware-based trusted execution environments (TEEs) enable cryptographic isolation of workloads from underlying infrastructure providers, moving beyond the traditional model of implicit trust in opaque cloud systems. Understand the core principle of "don't trust, verify" and how it applies to modern cloud computing environments. Learn about remote attestation techniques that allow on-demand verification of TEE integrity and security posture. Examine key ecosystem projects including Trustee, Keylime, fs-verity, and ConfidentialContainers, and understand how to assemble these technologies to create a comprehensive cryptographic verification framework. Gain insights into how confidential computing represents a paradigm shift that empowers users to verify rather than simply trust cloud infrastructure and auditing organizations.