Securely Booting Confidential VMs with Encrypting Disk

Explore the challenges and solutions for securely booting confidential virtual machines (VMs) with encrypted disks in this 18-minute conference talk from the Linux Plumbers Conference 2022. Delve into the complexities of Confidential Computing technologies, which offer guest memory encryption but lack standardized methods for securely starting VMs with encrypted disks. Learn about the limitations of traditional disk unlocking methods in confidential VMs and the potential security risks associated with various approaches. Examine different options for secure VM startup across multiple Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), including SEV, SEV-ES, SEV-SNP, and TDX. Discover the pros and cons of using embedded grub, measured direct boot, and secure vTPMs. Gain insights into the challenges of maintaining and upgrading confidential VMs with encrypted disks, and participate in the discussion aimed at defining a secure, cross-TEE compatible, and open-source mechanism for this critical process.