TEEs Unleashed: Turbocharging Mobile and Blockchain Security

Imagine a world where your sensitive data remains secure, even when your device is compromised. Where applications forget your personal information right after inspection, and trustless computations can be performed over shared private states. A world where decentralized systems maintain both privacy and high-speed execution, fostering healthy competition amongst MEV searchers on a completely private layer.

Intrigued? Let’s discuss Trusted Execution Environments, aka TEEs.

TEEs Quickstart

A Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) is a secure area within a main processor that ensures the integrity and confidentiality of data and code loaded inside. Basically, a vault within your CPU, where sensitive computations can occur without interference or exposure to the rest of the system.

All apps that are under TEEs are called TAs — Trusted Applications. These applications take advantage of the security features provided by the TEE to ensure that their execution is isolated from the rest of the system, protecting sensitive data and operations from potential threats.
The rest of the device is generally known as REE or Rich Execution Environment. Unlike the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), the REE is less secure because it is more exposed to potential vulnerabilities and attacks.

Sourced from Trustonic

Key Features of TEEs

The features of TEEs are a broad spectrum, and here we are attempting to encompass the key features that are particularly relevant to modern day mobile app or custom software developers.

1. Isolation: TEEs maintain strict runtime isolation, preventing interference with executing code and its resources. This hardware-level separation ensures that critical processes run in a secure enclave, shielded from potential threats within the REE. This is crucial for protecting private keys, transaction data, and smart contract execution in blockchain applications.

Sourced from Schematic Scholar

2. Attestation: TEEs offer remote attestation capabilities, allowing blockchain nodes to verify the integrity and authenticity of the code running in the secure enclave. This is essential for establishing trust in decentralized networks.

3. Hardware-based Encryption: TEEs often include dedicated encryption engines, providing robust protection for sensitive data. Cryptographic keys, personal information, and financial data are encrypted before storage or transmission, safeguarding against unauthorized access.

4. Secure Encrypted Execution: Trusted Applications (TAs) run within the TEE, isolated from the REE. This environment ensures the integrity of sensitive operations, such as cryptographic functions, by protecting them from interference or observation by unauthorized processes.

5. Secure Authentication: Authentication data, including biometrics, is stored and processed within the TEE’s secure enclave. This protects sensitive identifiers from exposure to the REE and potential attackers, significantly enhancing the security of user authentication processes.

6. Performance: Unlike purely cryptographic solutions, TEEs offer near-native performance for secure computations, making them suitable for high-throughput blockchain applications and MEV-related tasks like block building, high frequency trading, etc.

TEEs in Mobile Application Security

TEEs are revolutionizing mobile application security by providing a hardware-isolated secure enclave within the device’s processor. This isolation is fundamental to preserving trust and protecting sensitive operations from potential threats in the Rich Execution Environment (REE).
Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) are revolutionizing mobile application security by providing a hardware-isolated secure enclave within the device’s processor. This isolation is fundamental to preserving trust and protecting sensitive operations from potential threats in the Rich Execution Environment (REE).

Applications of TEEs in Mobile Development

1. Secure Biometric Authentication

Trust Execution Environments (TEEs) provide a secure foundation for biometric authentication systems by leveraging their isolated environment to protect sensitive biometric data. This is achieved through:

1.1 Isolated Storage: Biometric data is encrypted and stored within the TEE, inaccessible to the main OS.

1.2 Secure Processing: Biometric data is processed and matched within the TEE, ensuring that sensitive information is not exposed.

1.3 Trusted Execution: The TEE executes the matching process, returning only a simple yes/no result to the main OS.

Example: Android’s Fingerprint API utilizes the device’s TEE to store and match fingerprint data. When a user registers their fingerprint, the data is encrypted and stored within the TEE. During authentication, the fingerprint sensor captures the user’s fingerprint, and the TEE performs the matching process in its secure environment, returning only a simple yes/no result to the main OS.

2. Digital Rights Management (DRM)

TEEs provide a secure enclave within a device’s processor, crucial for implementing robust DRM) solutions. They protect copyrighted content from unauthorized access by isolating sensitive operations, such as decryption, from the main operating system. This isolation significantly reduces the attack surface, protecting against malware and reverse engineering.

Example: Google’s Widevine DRM, used by many streaming services, leverages TEEs to securely store decryption keys and perform content decryption. Decryption keys are stored within the TEE, making them inaccessible to the device’s main OS. The decryption process is also executed inside the TEE, ensuring that content remains protected even if the device is compromised.
This robust security model prevents unauthorized access and distribution of copyrighted material, maintaining the integrity of digital content and supporting content providers in enforcing licensing agreements. This ensures that even if the device is compromised, the decryption keys and the decryption process remain protected within the TEE.

Sourced from Researchgate

3. Mobile Payment Protection

TEEs provide enhanced security for mobile payment applications by creating a secure enclave within a device’s processor, ensuring that sensitive data and transactions are protected with advanced cryptographic operations and hardware-backed security measures.

3.1 Verified Boot
Verified Boot is a security feature that ensures a device boots only with trusted software by verifying each stage of the boot process using cryptographic signatures. It protects against unauthorized modifications and malware, maintaining the integrity of the operating system from the bootloader to the apps.

This secure enclave with a combination of TEE and Verified Boot offers maximum security by isolating sensitive financial data and transaction processes from the main operating system, protecting them from potential threats like malware, rootkits, and unauthorized access.

Example: Android’s Hardware-backed Keystore, which operates within the TEE, securely stores cryptographic keys used in payment applications. When a user makes a payment, the TEE handles the cryptographic operations, ensuring that the payment credentials never leave the secure environment.

TEEs in Blockchain Apps, MEV, and Block Building

As the Web3 industry grapples with challenges related to transaction privacy, fair ordering, and frontrunning attacks, TEEs offer innovative solutions that could reshape the landscape of decentralized applications and blockchain infrastructure.

Use Case — 1: Enhanced Wallet Security and Private Key Management

TEEs are transforming the security landscape of cryptocurrency wallets and key management systems by providing an unparalleled secure enclave for cryptographic operations. Here’s how TEEs are elevating security standards:

• Secure Key Generation and Storage: TEEs ensure that cryptographic keys are generated and stored within a protected environment, shielding them from potential malware and unauthorized access on the host device. This isolation prevents the keys from being exposed in plaintext outside the TEE.

• Immutable Security Architecture: The hardware-based isolation offered by TEEs makes it virtually impossible for attackers to alter or compromise the secure environment, providing a consistent and reliable foundation for wallet security.
• Robust Transaction Signing: By performing transaction signing operations within the TEE, wallets can guarantee that private keys are never exposed to the device’s operating system. This minimizes the attack surface and defends against key extraction attempts.
• Advanced Attack Resistance: TEEs are designed to withstand sophisticated attacks, such as side-channel attacks, by leveraging hardware-level security features that protect against data leakage and reverse engineering.
• Secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC): TEEs enable secure multi-party computation, allowing distributed key management across multiple parties without revealing sensitive data to any single entity. This capability supports decentralized custody solutions and collaborative security models.

Examples

• Hardware Wallets: Devices like Ledger and Trezor utilize secure elements akin to TEEs to perform cryptographic operations. These wallets keep private keys within a fortified environment at all times, ensuring that even if a user’s computer or smartphone is compromised, the keys remain safe. Ledger wallets, for example, use a dual-chip architecture where the secure element chip isolates sensitive operations from the host device, providing an extra layer of security against malware and unauthorized access.
• Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Exchanges employ TEEs to safeguard hot wallets, protecting vast sums of user assets from breaches and ensuring secure transaction processing. By using TEEs, these exchanges can protect vast sums of user assets from breaches and ensure secure transaction processing. TEEs help in implementing robust access controls, ensuring that only authorized code and personnel can execute operations involving user funds.
• Collaborative Security Models: TEEs facilitate secure multi-party computation, enabling multiple stakeholders to jointly manage cryptographic keys without compromising individual security. For instance, a decentralized exchange might use TEEs to manage liquidity pools, where multiple parties need to verify and approve transactions without any single party gaining control over the keys.

Use Case — 2: Programmable Authorization of Web2 Accounts

Sourced from Celestia (YouTube)

TEEs are revolutionizing the integration of Web2 and Web3 ecosystems by providing a secure and seamless bridge for interaction. They enable Web3 smart contracts to interact safely with Web2 accounts, unlocking new possibilities for application development and user engagement.

• Secure Web2 and Web3 Integration: TEEs create a trusted layer for communication between traditional Web2 platforms and emerging Web3 applications. This secure bridge ensures that sensitive operations and data remain protected while enabling innovative functionalities.
• Smart Contract-Driven Interactions: TEEs facilitate the execution of actions on Web2 platforms based on instructions from Web3 smart contracts. This allows for the automation and coordination of operations across different technological domains, enhancing functionality and user experience.

Example

• Social Media Integrations: TEEs can securely manage user identities and permissions, allowing smart contracts to post content, manage accounts, or analyze social media data based on user-defined criteria.

Use Case — 3 : Trustless Oracles

Unlike traditional oracles that rely on centralized sources, TEE-based oracles provide enhanced security, integrity, and confidentiality, enabling a more trustless interaction with external data sources.

• Enhanced Data Security: TEEs offer a secure enclave for data processing, ensuring that external data is fetched, processed, and transmitted to smart contracts without exposure to potential threats. This prevents data tampering and ensures authenticity.

Sourced from Piwik Pro

• Decentralized Data Verification: TEE-based oracles can validate data from multiple sources within a secure environment before delivering it to smart contracts. This reduces reliance on any single data provider and increases the reliability of the information.
• Resistance to Manipulation: With TEEs, the oracle’s operations are shielded from malicious actors, providing assurance that data has not been altered or influenced by external parties. This enhances the trustworthiness of the data supplied to the blockchain.

Example

• TEE-Based Oracle for Financial Data: In a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, real-time stock prices or foreign exchange rates are crucial for executing smart contracts accurately. A TEE-based oracle securely accesses financial data APIs and processes this information within the TEE to ensure accuracy and integrity. It then delivers reliable and tamper-proof data to the blockchain, ensuring that even if external data sources are compromised, the oracle provides trustworthy and secure information to smart contracts.

Use Case — 4: Confidential Smart Contracts and Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Sourced from Celestia (YouTube)

TEEs enable the execution of confidential smart contracts, where the contract’s state and execution remain private while still allowing verifiable outcomes. Additionally, TEEs can potentially accelerate zero-knowledge proof generation and verification, enhancing the performance of privacy-preserving blockchain applications.

Confidential Smart Contracts: TEEs ensure that the data and logic of smart contracts remain private, protecting sensitive information while still producing outcomes that can be verified by other network participants. This capability is crucial for applications requiring confidentiality, such as financial transactions and identity management.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs Acceleration: By leveraging the secure and isolated processing power of TEEs, zero-knowledge proofs can be generated and verified more efficiently. This enhances the throughput and reduces the computational overhead for privacy-focused blockchain protocols.

Examples

• Oasis Network: Oasis Network utilizes TEEs to run confidential smart contracts, enabling privacy-preserving decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and secure data processing on the blockchain. This ensures that sensitive financial data and personal information are protected while still allowing for transparent and verifiable outcomes.

Use Case — 5: Preserving Privacy in MEV and block building

TEEs enable transactions to be processed in isolation from the rest of the network, maintaining confidentiality and preventing unauthorized access to transaction data. This helps protect sensitive information from being exposed during the transaction lifecycle. And by securely ordering transactions within a TEE, the risk of front-running and other MEV-related attacks is minimized. This ensures that transactions are executed fairly and according to their intended sequence, without interference from malicious actors.

Examples

• TEE-Based Block Builders: TEE-based block builders can process transactions privately, ensuring that sensitive transaction details remain hidden from external parties. This means that even sophisticated MEV extraction tools cannot access the bundle data, providing enhanced privacy and security for users.
• TEE-Based Fair-ordering: By utilizing the secure environment of TEEs, transactions are processed in a predetermined order, preventing malicious actors from manipulating the sequence for their benefit. This maintains the integrity and fairness of the transaction process, as all participants can trust that transactions are executed in the order they were received, without interference or bias.
• Front-running prevention: In decentralized systems, frontrunning occurs when an attacker observes pending transactions and exploits them for profit. By using TEEs, transaction details are shielded until execution, blocking the ability of frontrunners to gain insights or act on pending transactions. This protects users from unfair practices and ensures a more equitable and transparent transaction environment.

Work with Us

To wrap it up, TEE offers a powerful way to secure your Blockchain, Android and other Embedded products. With dedicated hardware support by Arm TrustZone and Trusty operating system, you can isolate sensitive tasks and protect them from potential threats. However, implementing TEEs in your apps comes with its own set of challenges like infra chokepoints — credible liveness, open hardware licensing limitations, etc.

With expertise in Android security and TEE integration, AudaceLabs will help you utilize the full potential of TEE on your Blockchain and Android apps and safeguard your digital assets against emerging threats. To know more get in touch with us via info@audacelabs.com to learn more.