Thales and Intel enable advanced protection for the Google Cloud ecosystem

• Enables persistent protection of the most sensitive enterprise workloads in the cloud through customer-controlled data security, not observable by non-authorized parties
• Protects against malicious actors accessing code and data at rest, in transit and while in use

Thales, the leading global technology and security provider, today announced a collaboration leveraging its CipherTrust Data Security Platform (CDSP) to support End-To-End Data Protection (E2EDP) on Google Cloud, using Confidential Computing (CC) from Google Cloud and trusted cloud independent attestation provided by Intel Trust Authority (ITA).

The effort is a step forward in data security, giving enterprises additional controls to protect their data at rest, in transit, and in use.

“As more enterprises migrate their data and workloads to the cloud, there is an increasing demand to safeguard the privacy and integrity of the data, especially those sensitive workloads that include intellectual property, AI models and valuable personal information. This collaboration enables enterprises to protect and control their data at rest, in transit and in use with fully verifiable attestation. Our close collaboration with Google Cloud and Intel increases our customers' trust in their cloud migration,” said Todd Moore, Vice President of Data Security Products at Thales.

A majority of the 2023 Thales Cloud Security Study respondents reported having a significant amount of sensitive data stored and in use in the cloud. Consequently, safeguarding sensitive data and associated workloads when stored or in use, is an increasing priority, especially for highly regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare. Thales's collaboration with Intel and Google Cloud provides certifiable controls for enterprises to fully protect their data end-to-end.

Purnam Sheth, Vice President and General Manager: Trust and Security Products, SATG at Intel: "Creating this groundbreaking, seamless data security platform in Google Cloud meets customers’ complex requirements for data protection, controlled access and security, and adherence to compliance for data at rest, in transit and in use. Foundational Intel® Trust Domain Extensions Confidential Compute and Intel® Trust Authority gives enterprises assurance of the integrity of their workloads and guards at all stages of data management. This valuable collaboration between Thales, Google Cloud and Intel makes this possible."

This security platform is based on the principle of separation of duties, where the customer remains in control of the encryption keys and their location. This approach enhances trust by holding each stakeholder responsible for their respective roles and reduces the ability for a malicious actor to access code and data at rest, in transit and while being executed.

Customers can migrate existing workloads with sensitive data or create new workloads needing zero trust, confidential computing and Confidential AI to this security platform in Google Cloud to broaden data security, attestation and set the right authorizations. With end-to-end data protection, multiple parties can securely collaborate on various use cases, such as Confidential AI datasets and models as needed while preserving privacy, confidentiality, and compliance with privacy regulations.

The Thales CipherTrust Data Security Platform uses Intel Trust Authority as a zero-trust, independent attestation service for advanced security and scalable confidential computing. Consistent attestation to Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) that are based on Intel Trust Domain Extensions. This single, consistent attestation process provides assurance to any relying party that the TEE and any data and workloads running within it have not been compromised.

Brian Roddy, VP, Product Management, Google Cloud: “Google Cloud is committed to providing our customers secure, private and reliable environments for their workloads, and our Confidential Computing portfolio plays a critical role in this effort. Offering our customers solutions like Thales’ encryption key management expertise, combined with Intel’s Trust Authority attestation, enables the choice of even stronger privacy controls.”

The collaboration comes as Thales is recognized for its achievements in the Google Cloud ecosystem. For the second year in a row, Thales has received the 2024 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year Award for Security - Data Protection. ​

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies within three domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Digital Identity & Security. It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.

The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key areas such as quantum technologies, Edge computing, 6G and cybersecurity.

Thales has 81,000* employees in 68 countries. In 2023, the Group generated sales of €18.4 billion.

* These figures exclude the ground transportation business, which is being divested