What is a TEE Coprocessor? A Beginner's Guide

TEE Coprocessors extend the functionality of the blockchain by performing secure computation in isolated enclaves known as a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).

This article will explore what a TEE Coprocessor is and why it holds immense potential to transform the way we interact with blockchain infrastructure and decentralized applications.

What is a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)?

A TEE is a secure enclave within a processor specifically designed to execute code and store data confidentially. This isolated environment safeguards sensitive information from unauthorized access, even if the underlying system is compromised. Imagine a vault within your computer, accessible only by authorized programs and resistant to external tampering.

What is a TEE Coprocessor?

A TEE Coprocessor handle data computations and verifications offchain before posting the computation of these results onchain via attestations, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of the data.

How TEE Coprocessors Work?

TEE Coprocessors operate through a well-defined process:

1. Code and Data Segregation: Computational code and data are isolated within the secure enclave of the TEE Coprocessor, preventing unauthorized access from the main system or malicious actors.

2. Secure Execution: The isolated code executes within the TEE, shielded from external interference. Only authorized outputs are returned to the main system.

3. Verification via Attestation: Once execution is complete, the TEE Coprocessor generates a cryptographic proof, called an attestation, that verifies the code's integrity and the secure execution environment. This attestation serves as a verifiable record of the process.

Enhancing Trust with Verifiable Onchain Attestations

The attestation generated by the TEE Coprocessor is submitted to the blockchain. Blockchain smart contracts can validate the attestation, ensuring the code's authenticity and secure execution within the TEE. This transparency ensures trust in the computations performed by the TEE Coprocessor. The verifiable onchain attestation provides public evidence of hardware authenticity, software integrity, and prover identity.

Benefits of Using TEE Coprocessors

The advantages of incorporating TEE Coprocessors into Web3 applications include:

1. Enhanced Security: By isolating sensitive operations within the TEE, TEE Coprocessors significantly reduce the attack surface for malicious actors. This is particularly valuable for safeguarding private keys, transaction data, and other critical information within Web3 applications.

2. Lower Computational Costs: Offloading secure computations to the TEE Coprocessor frees up the main machine, leading to improved application performance and reduced overall processing power requirements. This translates to cost savings for developers and users.

3. Rapid Deployment: TEE Coprocessors enable the integration of secure functionalities into existing Web3 applications at minimal cost overhead. This facilitates a smoother and faster transition to a more secure environment.

Examples of TEE Coprocessors

1. Multi-Prover for Rollups

   Some Ethereum rollups (like Scroll, Linea, ZKsync, and Taiko) are using TEEs as an additional proving layer, especially for zk-rollups. This means TEE coprocessors help validate L2 transactions alongside ZK proofs, reducing the risk of a single point of failure. The multi-prover setup enables a committee-based decision-making approach, improving trust in rollups.

2. Securing MPC Systems

   MPC systems can leverage TEE-capable GPUs to further reduce the risk of collusion between MPC nodes. An example includes World's AMPC system that stores iris codes for World ID that are split into different portions that are stored by multiple independent parties.

3. Verifiable AI Agents

   TEEs are being used to run private AI models inside secure enclaves. NVIDIA’s H100 and H200 GPUs now support TEEs, enabling confidential AI inference while maintaining data privacy.

4. Verifiable Block Building

   Rollup-Boost, developed by Flashbots for Unichain and other OP Stack rollups, relies on TEEs to provide verifiable priority ordering. This ensures MEV strategies remain fair and decentralized by keeping transactions private until execution.

Automata Network is a machine attestation layer that integrates TEEs into AI systems and decentralized networks. Learn more about what we do here.