---
# System prepended metadata

title: Trustless TEEs Initiative - SF Pi-rateShip Edition
tags: [TTEE, SF-Pirateship]

---

## Trustless TEEs Initiative - SF Pi-rateShip Edition

Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) have emerged as a transformative technology, promising significant enhancements in privacy, security, and trust minimization across diverse applications, from blockchain services to AI integrations.

This session explores key insights shared during the TEE Salon, hosted in San Francisco's unique Pi-rateShip. The session featured leading experts such as Andrew Miller, Quintus Kilbourn, Elaine Shi, Tim, Michael from Fabric, each shedding light on innovative use cases, underlying technological breakthroughs, and real-world challenges shaping the evolution and adoption of Trustless TEEs.

Below, we explore these topics through detailed sessions presented by the speakers at the TEE Salon.

#### OAuth3 and Credential Delegation with TEEs (Andrew Miller)
* Explores secure delegation of credentials with fine-grained control through TEE-based proxies. [Read more](#OAuth3-and-Credential-Delegation-with-TEEs-Slides)

#### Trustless TEEs: Initiative Overview (Quintus)
* Overview of TEEs' importance, current limitations, security challenges, and proposed solutions through open-source hardware and transparent verification. [Read more](#Trustless-TEEs-Initiative-OverviewnbspSlides)

#### Oblivious Data Access and Ethereum State Privacy (Elaine)
* Introduction to Oblivious RAM (ORAM) and Private Information Retrieval (PIR) for Ethereum state privacy, emphasizing performance gains and practical applications in protecting sensitive blockchain data. [Read more](#Fast-Oblivious-Access-to-Ethereum-Slides)

#### Open-Source Hardware and Chip Fabrication Ecosystem (Tim)
* Addresses the challenges of proprietary tooling and expensive chip fabrication. Highlights significant open-source initiatives (SkyWater, GlobalFoundries, IHP), accessible chip prototyping programs, and the need for reproducible and secure open-source hardware ecosystems. [Read more](#So-you-wanna-make-a-chip-Open-Source-Silicon-Slides)

#### Key Themes:

* **Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)**: Secure hardware platforms providing confidentiality and integrity for decentralized applications.
* **Blockchain Privacy and Security**: TEEs enhance privacy in blockchain interactions, enabling secure and private smart contract execution.
* **Open-Source Movement in Hardware**: Emphasizes the critical role of transparent, auditable hardware design and verification methods to address vulnerabilities and trust issues.
* **Practical Implementations**: Real-world use cases demonstrate significant security and efficiency improvements, including Ethereum privacy layers, MEV protection, and secure web services.

#### Security and Future Directions:

*   Promoting the development of fully transparent and auditable open-source hardware.
*   Leveraging advanced cryptographic methods alongside TEEs to further enhance security.
*   Fostering community-driven innovation in chip design and verification for long-term, sustainable hardware security advancements.

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### OAuth3 and Credential Delegation with TEEs [Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kuIqiMdGNxgbQIKhx4ROVCn9MXEFU9mFopkU5rypNHw/edit?usp=drivesdk)

Andrew opened the salon by highlighting the power of TEEs in real-world applications, emphasizing their strengths in providing secure isolated execution and remote attestation. Highligting how TEEs can host applications like Uniswap, automatically enhancing them with privacy and resistance to adversarial manipulation, such as dark pools and snipe-resistant lending protocols. 

The innovative concept of using TEEs for decentralized Tor hidden services, allowing verification of service authenticity without compromising anonymity or revealing service locations.

Teleport was also introduced, a TEE-based approach providing secure, fine-grained delegation for account credentials--ideal for limiting AI agent access to user accounts exposing sensitive details.

### Trustless TEEs: Initiative Overview [Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AI7ByAfrtdYXdPuwkDFXRbaN37vrZZs8fUqvk75UMhY/edit#slide=id.g3407acaeb19_0_0)

Quintus followed by articulating the vision behind the Trustless TEE initiaitve, underscoring the critical need for TEEs that minimize reliance on trust in manufacturers and closed-source hardware. He illustrated how current TEEs, though promising, are susceptible to vulnerabilities due to propietary constraints. The initiative's goal is to create open-source hardware design, leveraging community-driven verification processes to substantially reduce security risks. There's the strategic importance of open silicon, advocating for transparent and verifiable hardware componetns to build truly robust TEEs, effectively realigning economic incentives within the silicon supply chain.


### Fast Oblivious Access to Ethereum [Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nEOQmMRGnFAcrbKh7S9CdSC8ok_gINQfoOFrP19z7UM/edit#slide=id.g2f0c1ed260d_0_0)

The Oblivious RAM (ORAM) techniques essential for preventing sensitive data leakage during blockchain interactions within TEEs. Without ORAM, TEEs still inadvertently expose transaction details through observable access patterns. Details on the technical implementation and advantages of ORAM, highlighting dramatic efficiency gains--demonstrating performance improvements up to 150 times faster than traditional methods deployed by major platforms like Signal. There's ongoing advancements in private information retrieval (PIR), showing promising results for significantly faster access to encrypted blockchain data, crucial for practical TEE applications.

### So you wanna make a chip? Open Source Silicon [Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSpFm-NWLi7MBPMTPGedGgXtGUr04sB36RbRIEKMcbe_4t3lgP3LpDJEVrhFqgkD5z3B5O6CuZhoOes/pub?start=true&loop=true&delayms=3000&slide=id.g33ed59c2ea1_0_938)

Tim delivered an inspiring overview of the transformative potential of open-source chip design, sharing experiences from initiatives like Google's collaboration with SkyWater, dramatically lowering the entry barrier for chip fabrication.

He described how open-source silicon processes enable a broader, inclusive ecosystem, allowing small teams, academics, and even students afforable access to cutting-edge chip fabrication.

Tim drew parallels between the software open-source revolution and the nascent open hardware movement, highlighting how opennes in silicon could lead to enhanced security through collective scrutiny and innovation. He concluded by illustrating how open silicon directly supports amibitious projects like Trusted TEEs, fostering both innovation and security in hardware design.


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#### Slide links & more resources


* [Trustless Trusted Execution Environmnets (TTEE)](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AI7ByAfrtdYXdPuwkDFXRbaN37vrZZs8fUqvk75UMhY/edit#slide=id.g3407acaeb19_0_0)
• [Fast Oblivious Access to Ethereum](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nEOQmMRGnFAcrbKh7S9CdSC8ok_gINQfoOFrP19z7UM/edit?usp=sharing)
• [Jupyter Silicon](bit.ly/jupyter-silicon)
• [CFU Playground](cfu-playground.rtfd.io)
• [Fomu FPGA Workshop](workshop.fomu.im)
• [Fomu Camp](j.mp/fomu-camp19)

• [General link for more presentations](bit.ly/open-silicon-2024)
• [Wireless / Radio](bit.ly/goog-wireless)
• [Analog Auto Generation](bit.ly/goog-analog)
• [Secure Silicon Development](bit.ly/goog-secure-silicon)
• [High speed SERDES, PCIe & USB3](bit.ly/goog-serdes)
• [Secure Silicon Details](bit.ly/goog-secure-silicon)
• [Trillian IC](bit.ly/trillian-ic)