Switchboard Oracles: Securing Web3 Data with Confidential Containers

Overview

Switchboard is building a decentralized oracle network that provides secure, reliable, and verifiable data for Web3 applications. By leveraging Confidential Containers (CoCo) with AMD SEV-SNP technology, Switchboard has created a robust infrastructure that protects sensitive oracle data from privileged attackers while ensuring verifiable attestation for blockchain applications.

Challenge

Oracles serve as critical infrastructure in the blockchain ecosystem, providing external data to smart contracts. However, they face unique security challenges:

1. Data Integrity: Ensuring data remains unaltered from source to blockchain
2. Confidentiality: Protecting sensitive data from manipulation during processing
3. Privileged Access Threats: Defending against potential attacks from system administrators or cloud providers
4. Verifiable Trust: Providing cryptographic proof that data processing occurs in a secure environment

Traditional container solutions couldn’t provide the level of isolation and attestation required for Switchboard’s security model.

Solution

Switchboard implemented Confidential Containers with AMD SEV-SNP to create a trusted execution environment for their oracle infrastructure:

• Hardware-Level Memory Encryption: Using AMD EPYC CPUs with SEV-SNP to encrypt memory contents, protecting data-in-use from privileged attackers
• Remote Attestation: Providing cryptographic verification that oracle code runs in a genuine, unmodified confidential environment
• Confidential Containers Integration: Building on Kata Containers’ isolation while adding confidential computing capabilities
• Decentralized Infrastructure: Enabling trusted node partners to run Switchboard infrastructure while maintaining security guarantees

Business Benefits

1. Enhanced Security Posture: Protection against infrastructure-level attacks, reducing the attack surface for oracle data
2. Verifiable Trust: Ability to cryptographically prove to users and partners that data processing occurs in a secure environment
3. Competitive Advantage: Offering higher security guarantees than traditional oracle solutions
4. Simplified Compliance: Helping meet regulatory requirements for sensitive data handling in Web3 applications
5. Partner Network Growth: Enabling secure decentralization through the Node Partners program

Future Roadmap

Switchboard is expanding its confidential computing capabilities with planned support for Intel TDX, further broadening hardware compatibility options for node partners. This multi-architecture approach ensures the oracle network can scale securely across diverse infrastructure environments.

Conclusion

By implementing Confidential Containers with AMD SEV-SNP, Switchboard has established a new security standard for Web3 oracles. This infrastructure provides the foundation for Switchboard’s Node Partners program, launching on mainnet on March 11, 2025, enabling a truly decentralized and secure oracle network that Web3 applications can trust with their most sensitive data needs.