Proposal Explorer
ResetA verification proposal from the AI Verification Tech Map, from its records of 2026-10-09. https://trustbutveri.fyi/explorer/?mechanisms=M-0013,M-0010,M-0016&coop=none
Analysis
Applied filters: Prover cooperation: Not required. Not set (Any): Prover, Verifier devices on site, Chips, Minimum development status, Attack testing, Keep hidden from the verifier.
Overview
| Mechanism | Development | Security evidence | Open failures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network taps and certifiers ⚠ excluded by your filters: prover cooperation required | Proposed | Published security analysis | 2 significant |
| On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters ⚠ excluded by your filters: prover cooperation partial | Research demo | Published attack testing | 2 significant |
| Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges ⚠ excluded by your filters: prover cooperation required | Research demo | Published security analysis | 1 significant |
- Open failures: n critical n significant n minor
- ⚠ Dimmed: excluded by your filters
Claim coverageNo claims yet
Add claims to see which ones the mechanisms address.
PropertiesNone recorded
- Not counted
- Excluded by your filters: Network taps and certifiers, On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters and Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges
Attack testing3 mechanisms with published testing
Attack testing records published testing for this use. It does not by itself show independent review, a formal proof or that a deployed system is secure.
- Network taps and certifiers: Analysis · excluded by filters
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters: Red-teamed · excluded by filters
- Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges: Analysis · excluded by filters
Limits5 scope limitations · 2 open questions · 3 excluded by filters · 1 not yet demonstrated · 3 mechanisms with open significant failures
- Excluded by your filters
- Network taps and certifiers Prover cooperation is required; the filter allows not required.
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters Prover cooperation is partial; the filter allows not required.
- Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges Prover cooperation is required; the filter allows not required.
- Open significant failures
5 failures in 3 mechanisms
Output nondeterminism leaves covert capacity in Network taps and certifiers
Hashing cannot remove information hidden in the outputs themselves. The Secure Gateway Device paper estimates that about 0.1 bit per token remains even with seed-synchronized replay checks. For a 200k-GPU inference cluster at full load (2,000 tokens per GPU per second), that is about 40 Mbit/s of covert egress, enough to move a 1 TB model in under three days. The paper names this the core remaining challenge and points to deterministic replay or active scrubbing of hardware-induced entropy. An independent study found that an adversary who chooses the prompts roughly doubles the bits leaked per token under Gumbel-based inference verification; see Bounding unexplained information in outputs. 1 9
Known failure · Theoretical argument · Significant · Open. On the record
Related mechanism Operational use Deterministic and bit-exact inference: Deterministic replay is one of the two remedies the flaw's source names. A pointer, not evidence that this failure is mitigated. Add
Related mechanism Research demo Bounding unexplained information in outputs: Bounds the hidden information outputs can carry by measuring what the declared computation fails to predict. A pointer, not evidence that this failure is mitigated. Add
Residual side channels in simple passive setups in Network taps and certifiers
Amodo's analysis of its own tapped prototype lists unvalidated header fields, timing of permitted traffic and variation in response formatting as residual channels, and concludes that the passive tap must be replaced by an active one. 5
Known failure · Theoretical argument · Significant · Open. On the record
Adversarially disguised fine-tuning partly evades classification in On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
Across 20 evasion strategy families in five monitor-evader rounds, the classifier's accuracy against the most challenging disguised workloads held out from training was 43–87%. White-box LoRA fine-tuning was the only evasion family detected less than half the time. The evaluation covered single nodes, PyTorch-level evasion and NVIDIA hardware. 13
Known failure · Demonstrated attack · Significant · Open. On the record
Counters leak information about protected workloads in On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
Performance counters have been used as a side channel against TEEs, for example in CounterSEVeillance. NVIDIA disables performance counters in full confidential-computing mode, stating that they could provide an avenue for side-channel attacks. Richer counters for verification therefore pull against confidentiality. 14 15
Known failure · Theoretical argument · Significant · Open. On the record
Remote memory narrows the timing margin in Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges
Data-centre remote memory access returns in about 1–2 µs, against about 70–200 ns for local DRAM. The MIRI overview says verification of memory saturation depends on ruling out remote access by latency or physical disconnection. It names pre-staging data into local memory as the remaining evasion and proposes an unpredictable, capacity-filling challenge to close it. 3
Known failure · Theoretical argument · Significant · Open. On the record
Related mechanism Research demo Bandwidth limits and compartmentalization: Physical disconnection is proposed to exclude remote memory between the separated groups during a challenge. It depends on the isolation boundary being enforced. A pointer, not evidence that this failure is mitigated. Add
- Scope limitations
Some links cannot be passively tapped in Network taps and certifiers
Cankaya notes that copper-connected scale-up domains (for example NVL72 racks and TPU v7 cubes) are much harder to tap than fibre, and that optical budgets make passive taps impractical on 400GBASE-SR8 multimode links. Amodo found no taps advertised for 53 GBaud links as of May 2026. 2 10
Scope limitation · Open question. On the record
Encrypted fabrics hide plaintext from both parties in Network taps and certifiers
Cankaya notes that with TEE-protected sessions whose keys are ephemeral and managed inside the TEE, neither the operator nor the manufacturer can recover session keys after the session, so tapped traffic could not be opened for recomputation. For other encrypted fabrics, the operator can retain keys. 2
Scope limitation · Open question. On the record
Completeness rests on physical monitoring left out of scope in Network taps and certifiers
The Secure Gateway Device paper assumes the facility is physically monitored, and states that the whole architecture depends on the device being the only communication channel. It names radio emanation, power-line signalling and thermal channels as covert channels beyond that scope. 1
Scope limitation · Open question. On the record
Related mechanism Proposed Side-channel suppression for isolated facilities: Addresses the radio, power-line and thermal channels that network-level designs leave out. A pointer, not evidence that this failure is mitigated. Add
Software-read telemetry can be forged by the operator in On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
NVML-based classification assumes trustworthy telemetry. Without a tamper-resistant read path, an authenticated telemetry channel and secure boot of the monitoring software, an operator who controls the full software stack could forge counter values. Monfared et al. start from the same premise: current GPUs expose little trusted telemetry and can be modified or virtualized. 11 13
Scope limitation · Theoretical argument. On the record
Related mechanism Proposed Hardware-enabled guarantees (flexHEG) and guarantee processors: A guarantee processor on the chip would give the tamper-resistant, authenticated telemetry path the flaw says is missing. A pointer, not evidence that this failure is mitigated. Add
Timing challenges do not identify the individual chip in On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
GEMM and VDF challenges can be answered by identical GPUs elsewhere, and floating-point fingerprints distinguish GPU models, not individual devices. GPU virtualization adds timing leakage that prevents attributing compute use. 11
Scope limitation · Theoretical argument. On the record
- Open questions
No quantified error rates or formal thresholds for timing primitives in On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
Monfared et al. state that false-positive and false-negative rates are not quantified and leave hardware-specific formal thresholds to future work. 11
Open question · Open question. On the record
Error rates not quantified in Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges
Monfared et al. show separable timing distributions. Their acceptance rule passes a GPU when its mean time per round stays at or below a chosen maximum, and an appendix outlines statistical tests for the proof-of-work puzzle. They leave hardware-specific threshold values to future work and report no false-positive or false-negative rates. 11
Open question · Open question. On the record
- Not yet demonstrated
- Proposed Network taps and certifiers
Possible additions3 for open failures · 7 for dependencies
Mechanisms on the map that are not in the proposal. Pointers, not recommendations.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation required
- Bears on the open significant failure “Output nondeterminism leaves covert capacity” in Network taps and certifiers. Deterministic replay is one of the two remedies the flaw's source names.
- Network taps and certifiers waits on it. Nondeterministic inference leaves covert capacity in outputs that hashing cannot remove.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation required
- Bears on the open significant failure “Remote memory narrows the timing margin” in Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges. Physical disconnection is proposed to exclude remote memory between the separated groups during a challenge. It depends on the isolation boundary being enforced.
- Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges waits on it. Outside help, such as remote memory, must be excluded during challenges.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation required
- Bears on the open significant failure “Output nondeterminism leaves covert capacity” in Network taps and certifiers. Bounds the hidden information outputs can carry by measuring what the declared computation fails to predict.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation partial
- Network taps and certifiers waits on it. Taps and gateway devices need tamper-evident housing and physical monitoring so that traffic cannot bypass them.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation required
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters waits on it. Shipping accelerators need a tamper-resistant, authenticated telemetry path.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation partial
- Network taps and certifiers waits on it. Radio, power-line and thermal channels are not addressed by network-level designs.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation required
- Network taps and certifiers depends on it.
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Excluded by filters: prover cooperation required
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters depends on it.
Dependencies5 missing prerequisites · 12 blockers
- Missing prerequisites
- Operational use Sampled inference recomputation needed by Network taps and certifiers Add
- Operational use Deterministic and bit-exact inference needed by Network taps and certifiers Add
- Research demo Tamper evidence for verifier devices needed by Network taps and certifiers Add
- Proposed Side-channel suppression for isolated facilities needed by Network taps and certifiers Add
- Operational use TEE remote attestation for AI workloads needed by On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters Add
- Blockers
12 blockers recorded
- Network taps and certifiers
- No complete verification tap has been demonstrated at production frontend link rates, and on the tested CPU no hash algorithm reached line rate with minimum-size frames. Performance & compatibility 10 23
- Nondeterministic inference leaves covert capacity in outputs that hashing cannot remove. Evidence binding. Waits on Deterministic and bit-exact inference 1
- Taps and gateway devices need tamper-evident housing and physical monitoring so that traffic cannot bypass them. Hardware trust. Waits on Tamper evidence for verifier devices 1 3
- Radio, power-line and thermal channels are not addressed by network-level designs. Coverage & hidden compute. Waits on Side-channel suppression for isolated facilities 1
- Red-teaming by specialists is called for but has not been reported. Adversarial validation 1
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
- Shipping accelerators need a tamper-resistant, authenticated telemetry path. Hardware trust. Waits on Hardware-enabled guarantees (flexHEG) and guarantee processors 12 13
- NVIDIA's full confidential-computing mode disables the hardware performance counters its profiling tools use, so telemetry that needs them conflicts with it. Privacy & leakage 14 15
- Continuous challenge puzzles cost power and throughput on production workloads. Performance & compatibility 11
- Evaluation has not gone beyond single nodes, framework-level evasion and one vendor's hardware. Adversarial validation 13
- Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges
- No network-level memory challenge across data-centre servers has been demonstrated. Adversarial validation 3
- Challenges that fill memory displace workloads; filling a pod's volatile memory takes tens of minutes and SSDs take hours. Performance & compatibility 3 11
- Outside help, such as remote memory, must be excluded during challenges. Coverage & hidden compute. Waits on Bandwidth limits and compartmentalization 3
- Network taps and certifiers
What the verifier sees2 depend on design
From the family or selected implementation's record.
- Model weights
Depends on the design for Network taps and certifiers and On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters.
Not involved: Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges.
- Inputs and outputs
Depends on the design for Network taps and certifiers and On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters.
Not involved: Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges.
- Training data
Depends on the design for Network taps and certifiers and On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters.
Not involved: Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges.
Exposure notes
- Network taps and certifiers: Only hashes leave the site; records picked for a challenge are opened for replay at a verification facility.
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters: Counters do not read weights or data, but richer counters can leak secrets through side channels.
- Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges: Uses verifier-chosen challenges; it does not handle model data.
Implementations7 systems
- Network taps and certifiers
- Proposed AI 2040 inference-only verification stack Proposed architecture, AI Futures Project
- Proposed Low-trust AI compute verification system overview Proposed architecture, Machine Intelligence Research Institute
- Proposed SASH confidential network logger Research prototype, Singapore AI Safety Hub (SASH)
- On-chip telemetry from timing, memory and performance counters
- None on the map
- Timed challenge-response and memory-occupation challenges
- Proposed Data-centre memory challenging Proposed architecture, Machine Intelligence Research Institute
- Research demo GPU contention probes Research prototype
- Proposed Low-trust AI compute verification system overview Proposed architecture, Machine Intelligence Research Institute
- Research demo SAGE Research prototype
- Research demo VRAM-residency challenge Research prototype
Sources23 cited
- Fingerprinting All AI Cluster I/O Without Mutually Trusted Processors, N. Cankaya et al. (2026). Original
- The Fundamentals and Feasibility of Secure Network Taps for Verifying AI Datacenter Use, N. Cankaya (2026). Original
- A System Overview for Near-Term, Low-Trust AI Compute Verification, N. Cankaya (2026). Original
- Verification Plan, R. Dean (2026). Original
- Fitting a Network TAP to our Inference Verification Prototype, Amodo Design (2026). Original
- Amodo-Design/Inference-Recomputation-Prototype (GitHub repository), Amodo Design (2026). Original
- inference-verification: Inference Verification Prototype, Singapore AI Safety Hub (SASH) (2026). Original
- Internationalising AI Verification, Singapore AI Safety Hub (SASH) (2026). Original
- Adversarial Entropy Inflation Against Gumbel-Based Inference Verification, N. Kezins (2026). Original
- Network Tapping for AI Verification: A Technical Assessment, Amodo Design (2026). Original
- Timing and Memory Telemetry on GPUs for AI Governance, S. K. Monfared et al. (2026). Original
- Guaranteeable Memory: An HBM-Based Chiplet for Verifiable AI Workloads, J. Petrie (2025). Original
- Detecting Hidden ML Training With Zero-Overhead Telemetry, R. Rahman & S. Tajdari (2026). Original
- On TEEs for Privacy-Preserving Monitoring in AI Governance, Gloria Z (2026). Original
- NVIDIA Secure AI with Blackwell and Hopper GPUs (White Paper), NVIDIA (2025). Original
- SAGE: Software-based Attestation for GPU Execution, A. Ivanov et al. (2023). Original
- SWATT: SoftWare-based ATTestation for Embedded Devices, A. Seshadri et al. (2004). Original
- Proofs of Space, S. Dziembowski et al. (2015). Original
- Secure Code Update for Embedded Devices via Proofs of Secure Erasure, D. Perito & G. Tsudik (2010). Original
- Software-Based Memory Erasure with Relaxed Isolation Requirements, S. Bursuc et al. (2024). Original
- On the Difficulty of Software-Based Attestation of Embedded Devices, C. Castelluccia et al. (2009). Original
- Refutation of "On the Difficulty of Software-Based Attestation of Embedded Devices", A. Perrig & L. van Doorn (2010). Original
- Network Traffic Hashing, Amodo Design (2026). Original
Share the link to this proposal. This proposal is also available as plain text and JSON.
Filter mechanisms
Filters apply to mechanisms only. They describe the setting a proposal is for, and all are off by default. A mechanism that a filter rules out is flagged and does not count towards claim coverage. Selected implementations use their own record fields. A match means not excluded; conditional or unspecified exposure stays with a note. Passing a filter does not establish that the assumptions hold in a deployment.
1 of 25 mechanisms match · Clear all
Prover
How far can the party being checked be trusted?
The prover is the party being checked. Semi-trusted designs rely on part of its stack: usually the chip vendor's hardware root of trust, its firmware or counters, or its supply-chain records. Adversarial designs aim to hold even if it cheats wherever the checks allow, within their stated assumptions.
Keeps mechanisms whose threat model holds against at least this prover. Adversarial is the strongest assumption. Definitions
Verifier devices on site
May the verifier install its own hardware at the prover's sites?
Some mechanisms need a device the verifier owns or trusts at the prover's facility, such as a network tap, a bandwidth limiter or a sealed sensor. Choose Not allowed when the setting rules that out. Inspectors are not covered.
"Not allowed" removes mechanisms that need a retrofit device, such as a network tap or a sealed sensor. Definitions
Prover cooperation
How much must the prover take part?
Required: the prover takes part, for example by logging requests, producing proofs or opening records. Partial: some access, such as installing a device. Not required: works from outside, such as satellite imagery.
"Partial at most" removes mechanisms that need the prover's active participation. "Not required" keeps only those that work without it. Definitions
Chips
May the proposal depend on new chip designs?
New chip features take years to reach a deployed fleet and cover only chips made after they ship. Mechanisms that use shipping features, such as trusted execution environments or performance counters, stay.
"Existing chips only" removes mechanisms that need changes to future chip designs. Definitions
Minimum development status
Development status
A level describes the public evidence for a mechanism's stated use, not its cost or feasibility. R3 can still have open critical flaws.
Keeps mechanisms whose readiness level is at least this one. Definitions
Attack testing
How hard has each mechanism been attacked in public?
The strongest published attempt to break the mechanism for its verification use: a security analysis, red-teaming by its developers or collaborators, or a red team independent of them.
Keeps mechanisms whose strongest published attack testing is at least this. Definitions
Keep hidden from the verifier
What must the verifier never see? Choose any.
Model weights: the checked model's parameters. Inputs and outputs: the requests a deployed model serves and its responses. Training data: what a model was trained on. Each mechanism's exposure is the editors' reading of its record: shown, depends on the design (kept, with a note), hidden, not involved, or unspecified for a selected implementation. Code and configuration are not covered yet.
Removes mechanisms that show the asset to the verifier. Conditional or unspecified exposure stays with a note and needs checking against the privacy requirement.
Claims
A claim is something one party wants to verify about another party's AI hardware or software. Each claim's number shows how the proposal addresses it.
- Addressed. A mechanism in the proposal is aimed at this claim and is not excluded by the filters.
- Partly addressed. Only supporting mechanisms, or mechanisms aimed at it that the filters exclude.
- Unaddressed. No mechanism in the proposal addresses this claim.
Addressed means a mechanism in the proposal is aimed at the claim and is not excluded by your filters. It does not mean the claim is verified: check its assessed use, development status, security evidence, assumptions and findings.
Mechanisms
A mechanism is a general technique for verifying claims. Its badge is its development status for its stated use. An optional implementation choice narrows its assumptions, assessed use and claim links to that record. Lines join it to the claims it addresses. Click a line for details.Under its name it lists the claims it is aimed at or supports.
- Aimed at the claim: verifying it is a direct purpose of the mechanism.
- Supports the claim: helps verify it without being aimed at it.
- Faint: excluded by your filters, so it does not count towards claim coverage.
Overview
One row per mechanism in the proposal. Every mark comes from that mechanism's record, as listed in the panels below; what the verifier sees is the editors' reading of the record's text. Failure counts are per mechanism. Summary counts name mechanisms with open failures, not a sum of attacks. Choosing an implementation narrows each row to that record's assessed use; family findings remain as context. Findings are grouped as known failures, scope limitations and open questions. Only known failures count as failures. Counts are an inventory of published findings, not a risk score.
What the verifier sees
For model weights, inputs and outputs, and training data. This is the editors' reading of each mechanism's record (its threat model, how it works and its limitations), not a field of the record. Shown: the verifier sees it. Depends: on the design or variant, or the verifier sees only samples. Hidden: the verifier sees only commitments, hashes, proofs or results. Not involved: the record does not handle it. Unspecified: the selected implementation has no asset-specific assessment here.
Possible additions
Mechanisms on the map, not in the proposal, that the records connect to an unaddressed or partly addressed claim, an open failure or a dependency. They are pointers, not recommendations: each brings its own readiness level and findings, and none is claimed to close a failure. Links from failures are the editors' reading of the two records.
Start from a goal
A goal is something a rule or agreement about AI sets out to achieve. Choosing one loads the claims it needs verified. Your mechanisms and filters stay as they are.
- Cap frontier training2 direct, 3 supportingKeep every AI training run below an agreed amount of compute.
- Pause frontier AI development2 direct, 3 supportingStop new AI training runs and experiments for an agreed period, while existing models stay in service.
- Deploy only evaluated models2 direct, 3 supportingDeploy powerful AI models widely only after their risks have been evaluated and judged manageable.
- Prevent catastrophic misuse2 direct, 2 supportingKeep capable AI models from helping anyone carry out catastrophic attacks, such as biological or chemical ones.
- Prevent weight theft1 direct, 1 supportingKeep the weights of capable AI models from being copied out of the facilities that hold them.
- Enforce chip export controls1 directKeep export-controlled AI chips at the destinations they were authorised for.
Start from a published design
Choosing a design loads the mechanisms its record realises or depends on. If the proposal has no claims yet, it also loads the claims that record says the design addresses.
- AI 2040 inference-only verification stack7 mechanismsProposed architecture, AI Futures Project
- Low-trust AI compute verification system overview7 mechanismsProposed architecture, Machine Intelligence Research Institute
- RAND secure inference data center (SIDC) design2 mechanismsProposed architecture, RAND