Intel SGX's Demise: A Tale of Complexity and Market Realities
2025-05-08
Intel has confirmed that its Software Guard Extensions (SGX) will be deprecated in 12th generation processors (Workstation/Desktop/Laptop/embedded platforms), remaining only in high-end Xeon CPUs for servers. Intended to enhance trust in cloud environments, SGX's complex implementation across hardware, microcode, and firmware proved costly and vulnerable. This article details SGX's inherent complexity, risks (key leakage, side-channel attacks), flawed threat model, and overblown market hype. Ultimately, Intel's narrowing SGX's scope to servers acknowledges it's not a silver bullet security solution.