AMD SEV-SNP (Secure Encrypted Virtualization — Secure Nested Paging) encrypts VM
memory in hardware. Even a GCP hypervisor operator cannot read the memory of a
Confidential VM. This provides the strongest isolation for Tier 4 data processing.
| Option | Use case | Attestation | Cost premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confidential VM (AMD SEV) | Standard training jobs | Basic | +10% |
| Confidential VM (AMD SEV-SNP) | Sensitive PHI workloads | Full attestation | +10-15% |
| Confidential Space | Multi-party compute | Workload attestation | Custom |
``bash`Create a Confidential VM instance
gcloud compute instances create phi-analysis-pilot \
--zone=us-central1-b \
--machine-type=n2d-standard-4 \ # AMD processor required for SEV
--image-family=debian-12 \
--image-project=debian-cloud \
--confidential-compute \
--on-host-maintenance=TERMINATE \ # Required for Confidential VMs
--maintenance-policy=TERMINATE \
--shielded-secure-boot \
--shielded-vtpm \
--shielded-integrity-monitoring \
--no-address \ # No external IP — IAP access only
--project=cytognosis-infrastructure
python
Use Confidential computing in Vertex AI custom training
from google.cloud import aiplatform
job = aiplatform.CustomJob(
display_name="phi-training-confidential",
worker_pool_specs=[{
"machine_spec": {
"machine_type": "n2d-standard-8",
"confidential_compute_type": "SEV_SNP",
},
"replica_count": 1,
"container_spec": {
"image_uri": "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/cytognosis-phi-prod/phi-services/training:latest",
},
}],
)
job.run()
`
Phase 3: Full PHI Pipeline (trigger: production DUC analysis)
All Tier 4 analysis jobs run on Confidential VMs
Attestation reports stored alongside analysis results
VPC-SC perimeter enforced around all Confidential VM instances
Attestation
AMD SEV-SNP provides cryptographic attestation that the workload is running
on genuine AMD hardware with correct firmware. Store attestation reports:
`bash
Get attestation report from within a Confidential VM
gcloud compute instances get-shielded-identity phi-analysis-pilot \
--zone=us-central1-b --project=cytognosis-infrastructure
``