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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWorkload attestation lets a verifier evaluate evidence about a workload, its boot state, or its hardware before a service issues credentials or releases a key. Cloud workload identity answers which workload is requesting access; attestation answers whether selected properties of its execution environment meet policy. Neither is a blanket security guarantee: access still depends on what the verifier trusts and what the relying service allows.
What is workload attestation?
Workload attestation is a process in which a workload or its underlying platform supplies evidence about selected attributes, and a verifier checks that evidence against trusted values and policy. The evidence may identify a workload or describe an execution environment, such as a confidential VM or enclave. A successful check can then inform a separate decision to issue an identity, grant access, or permit a cryptographic operation.
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This is distinct from ordinary workload identity. An identity token can establish which principal is making a request, but receiving that token does not, by itself, establish that the workload’s boot or runtime state is acceptable. Google Cloud’s remote-attestation documentation describes assessing whether a Confidential VM is legitimate and operating in an expected state.
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How does remote attestation work with cloud workload identity?
- Define the claim. Decide what you need to establish: for example, that a workload is associated with a particular service account, that an enclave image matches an expected measurement, or that a confidential VM booted into an approved state.
- Produce evidence. An attester—the workload platform or hardware-backed mechanism—provides evidence relevant to that claim.
- Verify evidence and policy. A verifier checks the evidence and evaluates its claims against trusted roots, reference values, and configured policy. It is the verifier’s policy, not the mere existence of a signed document or token, that determines whether the evidence is acceptable.
- Bind the decision to access. An identity system or relying resource uses the verified result to issue credentials, authorize a request, or allow a key operation.
The terms attester, verifier, and relying resource describe separate roles, even when a cloud service manages some of them. Keep the authorization rule explicit: identify which verified claims permit which action, and which component enforces that action.
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Which managed-compute approaches establish which claims?
These mechanisms are not interchangeable. The platform, evidence, and enforcement point determine what a result can support.
| Approach | Evidence and policy | Documented access use | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute Engine managed workload identities | Configured attribute rules can use an attached service-account email or UID, VM name, or instance ID. IAM verifies configured attributes before credentials are issued; identities are represented as SPIFFE-formatted IDs. | Credential issuance based on configured workload or VM identity attributes. | This is an attribute-based managed identity attestation policy, not proof that measured boot integrity has been checked. Google’s documentation marked workload sources deprecated, with removal on or after April 24, 2025. Because that date has passed, do not design a new setup around this legacy route unless current Google Cloud documentation explicitly confirms availability. |
| Google Cloud Attestation for supported confidential environments | Evidence is checked against reference values and appraisal policies; the service returns cryptographically verifiable claims. | Relying Google Cloud services, including IAM and Secret Manager, can consume claims. | Support depends on the confidential-computing technology and product. The verifier’s trusted reference values and policy remain decisive. |
| AWS Nitro Enclaves | The Nitro Hypervisor provides a signed attestation document containing enclave evidence, including measurements. | An external verifier can check enclave identity; AWS KMS authorization conditions can use attestation-document values for cryptographic operations. | This is an enclave-specific flow, not the general EC2 instance-attestation process. |
| AWS EC2 NitroTPM instance attestation | Evidence is associated with a NitroTPM-enabled instance launched from an Attestable AMI. The workflow includes establishing reference measurements for the image and then obtaining and validating evidence. | Reference measurements can condition access to KMS key operations. | Image construction and reference-measurement management are part of the trust process; attestation does not establish that every part of the application is safe. |
Google Cloud Confidential Space uses attestation in a further pattern: it can participate in giving a workload a federated identity for protected-resource access, rather than relying only on an identity shared among workloads. That links an attested environment to an access identity; it does not make every workload with an identity equivalent.
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Can attestation control access to cloud secrets or keys?
Yes, when the secret or key service is configured to make authorization depend on verified evidence. Google Cloud Attestation produces claims for relying services such as IAM and Secret Manager. In the AWS Nitro Enclaves flow, values in an attestation document can be used in AWS KMS conditions; the EC2 NitroTPM flow can likewise use reference measurements to condition KMS key operations.
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The important design choice is the binding between claim and permission. A policy should express which accepted evidence permits which operation, rather than treating any successful attestation as unrestricted access. The verifier and the key or secret service must also use compatible policy and trusted values.
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How do I prove a workload is running on trusted cloud compute?
- Write the trust claim narrowly. Specify the property that matters and the protected action it should enable. “Runs on trusted compute” is too broad to evaluate until you say whether you mean workload identity attributes, an approved image measurement, or an expected confidential-VM state.
- Choose evidence that supports that claim. Confirm what the platform measures, where the measurement comes from, and which hardware or software trust root backs it. An attached service-account attribute and a boot-state measurement prove different things.
- Choose who verifies it. Establish which service validates evidence and who maintains the reference values and appraisal policy. A signed claim is useful only if the verifier trusts the signer and applies the intended policy.
- Connect the result to a specific authorization. Decide whether a verified claim enables credential issuance, access to a protected resource, or a defined key operation. Avoid granting broader permissions than the claim justifies.
- Plan measurement updates before deployment. Image, boot, firmware, and configuration changes can alter measurements. Define how a new approved reference is reviewed and deployed so legitimate updates do not silently fail—or lead to policy being weakened just to restore access.
- Test both outcomes. Confirm that an approved workload receives only the intended access and that evidence outside policy is rejected. Include the operational process for investigating and correcting a failed verification.
What attestation does not prove
Attestation is evidence for selected properties, evaluated under a particular trust policy. The documented mechanisms do not establish application correctness, prove that every runtime behavior is safe, or remove the need for least privilege and operational security controls. Treat attestation as one input to an access decision, not as a complete security verdict.
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