How Confidential Computing Protects Government AI Missions

Just like most industries today, artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how the U.S. government operates. From real-time threat detection and intelligence analysis to citizen engagement and logistics, AI has become central to modern mission success.

But as agencies explore Agentic AI, systems that can reason, plan, and act autonomously, there’s one concern overshadowing every potential breakthrough: security.

How do you deploy AI that handles classified data, sensitive models, and national-level decisions without losing control or visibility?

This is the defining challenge of the next phase of digital modernization. And it’s exactly what Confidential Computing was built to solve.

At NVIDIA GTC DC, Fortanix and NVIDIA unveiled a new joint solution that gives federal agencies the confidence to run agentic AI securely within their own trusted environments. It’s a turning point for the many mission owners who need both cutting-edge innovation and airtight protection.

Mission-Critical Goal: Securing Classified Workloads in the Age of Agentic AI

Agentic AI changes the way organizations use intelligence. Unlike traditional models that generate predictions or summaries, agentic systems act as if they can orchestrate multiple steps, coordinate across systems, and make context-aware decisions.

In a commercial setting, this might mean automating supply chains or enhancing customer experiences. In the federal context, the stakes are much higher and could include mission planning, defense logistics, or secure analysis of national security data.

These use cases require AI to:

Access classified or sovereign data without breaching clearance boundaries
Operate in air-gapped or edge environments with no data egress
Provide verifiable assurance that every process is running on trusted infrastructure
Maintain compliance with FIPS, FedRAMP and emerging AI governance frameworks

Unfortunately, traditional cloud or virtualized AI deployments weren’t built for this level of assurance. These rely on trust in the provider as opposed to cryptographic proof. And this is where Confidential Computing becomes indispensable.

Verified and Trusted Federal Agentic AI Deployments

To help agencies bridge the trust gap, Fortanix and NVIDIA's joint solution is a production-ready, on-premises or in Government AI factory deployment that enables building and scaling agentic AI with verified trust at every layer.

Here’s how it works.

End-to-End Confidential Computing. The platform combines Fortanix Armet AI with NVIDIA Confidential Computing GPUs (Hopper and Blackwell), creating a trusted execution environment where data and models remain encrypted not only at rest or in transit, but also while in use.

Every AI process, from data ingestion to reasoning, runs inside secure enclaves, ensuring that no sensitive information ever leaves protected memory.

Composite Attestation: One Continuous Chain of Trust. Using Fortanix Confidential Computing Manager (CCM) in conjunction with NVIDIA NRAS (NVIDIA Remote Attestation Service), the system performs composite attestation across both CPU and GPU layers.

At a practical level, this means that every component of the compute environment is cryptographically verified before workloads begin, and it is continuously monitored for tampering. Agencies gain a single, unified “trust report” that can be used as audit evidence or as proof of compliance.

Attestation-Gated Key Release. Fortanix’s Data Security Manager (DSM), a FIPS 140-2 Level 3-certified hardware security module (HSM) with built-in key management service (KMS), enforces that encryption keys, datasets and model weights are only released once the hardware and software stack have been validated through attestation.

No attestation, no access—period. This eliminates the risk of secrets drifting into unverified environments. DSM, Fortnaix's flagship product, is built on Confidential Computing, meaning all crypto operations and any data--credentials, logins, etc.--are protected, even while in-use.

Built-In Guardrails and Governance. AI guardrails filter unsafe inputs and outputs in real time, keeping every workflow within the boundaries of mission policy while preventing data poisoning or model tampering attacks.

Because Agentic AI involves autonomous decision-making, control must extend beyond encryption. Armet AI includes policy enforcement, role-based access controls, and quorum approvals to define who (or what) can access data or trigger high-impact actions.

Immutable Logging and SIEM Integration. Every operation is recorded in immutable audit logs, which can be fed directly into federal-grade SIEM systems for continuous monitoring and incident forensics. That means agencies can produce cryptographic evidence of compliance and traceability and not just trust assumptions.

Confidential AI: The Foundation for Mission Trust

Confidential Computing replaces traditional “trust the infrastructure” models with “prove the infrastructure.”

For agencies, that shift is revolutionary. It means AI workloads can process top-secret or sensitive but unclassified data within the same environment, with cryptographic proof that no unauthorized party—not even a system administrator—can access the data.

It also aligns directly with federal cybersecurity priorities:

Zero trust architecture (ZTA) principles
Executive Order 14028 on improving nation-state cybersecurity
CDAO and NIST AI RMF requirements for verifiability and accountability

With Confidential AI, mission teams can meet these mandates by design, not as afterthoughts.

Accelerating the Path from Pilot to Production

Those in the federal space know all too well that many AI programs stall after the proof-of-concept phase. Building a compliant and secure environment takes time, and stitching together separate tools for attestation, key management, and governance can be a lengthy process.

The Fortanix + NVIDIA joint solution eliminates friction. It’s a turnkey, production-ready agentic AI platform designed to drop into existing on-premises or air-gapped data centers.

Agencies can move from experimental pilots to operational AI in days, without sacrificing sovereignty or security. They get:

Turnkey deployment reduces complexity and integration overhead.
Pre-validated components to simplify ATO (Authority to Operate) processes.
Modular rich APIs that allow agencies to securely connect to internal data sources.
High-performance NVIDIA GPUs for real-time inference for mission workloads.

In short, Armet AI lets agencies innovate quickly and safely, which is exactly what federal modernization demands.

What NVIDIA + Fortanix Means for Federal Leaders

For CISOs and compliance officers, this architecture provides the verifiable assurance that every workload, model, and dataset runs in a trusted environment. There’s no human oversight required because the proof is cryptographic.

For mission program managers and AI teams, it removes the complexity of managing disjointed tools. They can now run complex agentic AI workflows within a single, policy-enforced framework that scales seamlessly from pilot to production.

And for senior IT and acquisition leaders, it offers a practical path to ROI. Instead of building one-off systems over years that become brittle and fragmented, agencies can deploy a pre-integrated Confidential Computing platform now to meet both modernization and compliance goals.

A New Era of Secure, Sovereign AI

Government missions can’t rely on partial trust or cloud-based assurances. They need verifiable security, operational control, and audit-ready proof at every layer of the AI stack.

With Fortanix Armet AI and NVIDIA Confidential AI joint solution, agencies can finally achieve that. Together, they deliver:

Security without compromise: Every workload protected from silicon to software
Compliance by design: Immutable logs and cryptographic attestation for audit readiness
Simplicity at scale: Turnkey deployment that brings Agentic AI to mission speed, deployed on-premises or in Government AI Factories

The result is a trusted AI that accelerates innovation, strengthens sovereignty, and keeps national security data exactly where it belongs: protected and in control.

Unlock innovation with trusted agentic AI, powered by Fortanix Armet AI and NVIDIA Confidential Computing. Request a demo or meet our experts at GTC DC to learn how your agency can bring mission-ready AI to life with full security and sovereignty.