Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Southern California received a $600,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070), effective September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2029. The award funds FILOLI (Auditable and Side-Channel-Resilient Confidential Computing Infrastructure), a research initiative designed to develop secure computing infrastructure for collaborative science environments where institutions share sensitive data such as medical records and proprietary models. The project integrates CPU-based confidential virtual machines with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) trusted execution environments to support secure accelerated workloads while protecting against data exposure to cloud operators and collaborating parties.

The deliverables include open-source prototypes, benchmarks, and toolkits addressing two critical security gaps in existing confidential computing platforms. The first thrust confines privileged host runtime using hardware-based security mechanisms including Trusted Platform Module (TPM) measurements and runtime code admission controls. The second thrust enforces secure execution within confidential virtual machines through cryptographically sealed, append-only audit records and remote attestation capabilities, enabling collaborators and auditors to verify platform integrity and computational completeness. Additionally, the project incorporates education and training activities to strengthen the national cybersecurity workforce.