An Introduction to Encrypted Execution Environments

Enclave, now called Interfold, presents Encrypted Execution Environments (E3s) as a way to run computations over encrypted data from multiple sources without exposing the raw data to any operator or trusted hardware. The article says E3s combine fully homomorphic encryption with zero-knowledge proofs and distributed threshold cryptography, and that data stays encrypted throughout the computation. Examples include counting secret ballots and analyzing patient data from multiple hospitals. The article contrasts E3s with trusted execution environments, citing academic research that identified over 20 attack styles on them, and notes that IBM reported an average breach cost of $4.88M in 2024.