Ant Group subsidiary, Ant Cryptographic Computing Technologies, introduced its SecretFlow Cloud platform at the Inclusion Conference on the Bund on Sept 6. This cryptographic computing platform seeks to facilitate secure data circulation and research by leveraging proprietary technology to ensure data privacy throughout its lifecycle.

Addressing concerns about data security in the burgeoning data element market, Ant Group Vice-President and Chief Technical Security Officer Wei Tao emphasized the importance of confidential computing.

"Cryptographic computing ensures that data remains invisible to all parties except the keyholder," said Wei. "This approach, employing cryptography, trusted hardware, and robust system security, allows data utilization without exposure, mitigating risks of leaks and misuse."

Wei further explained that while conventional privacy-preserving methods safeguard individual computations, they fall short in complex, multistep data utilization scenarios common in large-scale operations. Conversely, cryptographic computing secures the entire computational chain, preventing data leaks throughout multistep processes. This effectively shifts control from a network perimeter to a key-managed "virtual digital space boundary", according to Wei.

Ant Cryptographic Computing Technologies CEO Wang Lei said that SecretFlow Cloud boasts three key features: complete data lifecycle security, secure research and development capabilities on encrypted data, and flexible deployment options encompassing on-premise, private cloud, and public cloud environments.

To bolster data element circulation, Ant Cryptographic Computing Technologies also announced a partner program at the conference. The initiative aims to onboard 500 channel sales and technical service partners, offering technological, training, and marketing support.

Luo Bin contributed to this story.