# Encrypted Vault Overview

An **Encrypted Vault** adds end-to-end encryption and confidential computing to standard vaults, so your prompts,
responses, and everything in the middle are never exposed in plaintext, not even to Cohere or the cloud
operator. Everything stays encrypted end to end inside hardware-backed trusted execution
environments (TEEs), and you can cryptographically verify exactly what's running before you send a
single byte of data.

It gives you private AI without self-hosting: a one-click, fully managed SaaS experience with the
privacy posture of an on-prem deployment, and privacy you can **verify** rather than take on trust.

Encrypted vaults deploy through the same [shared vault flow](/guides/model-vault-quickstart) as any
other vault, and you call them with the same API. The one addition is the **Cohere OHTTP proxy**, a
confidential-computing component that runs on the client side and establishes an attested,
end-to-end-encrypted tunnel to the vault. It comes as a standalone proxy running in your environment
or as a Python package that wraps your client's transport layer. Either form verifies the
deployment's attestation and encrypts every request before any data leaves your machine, so your
application code stays unchanged. See
[Using the API with an Encrypted Vault](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-api-usage).

This section covers only what's **specific** to encrypted vaults: the security model, verification,
key management, compliance, and the models and pricing that apply.

## What Encrypted Vaults add

- Data is protected **in transit, at rest, and in use**, so prompts and responses are never exposed in plaintext, not even to Cohere or the cloud operator.
- Inference runs inside hardware-backed TEEs spanning the CPU (a confidential VM such as Intel TDX or AMD SEV-SNP) and the GPU (an NVIDIA GPU in confidential-computing mode), and your requests stay encrypted from your client all the way into the TEE, so the load balancer and network in between never see plaintext.
- Verifiable **remote attestation** lets you confirm you are talking to a genuine TEE running the exact code you expect. (This is what the vault's verification badge in the Model Vault app reflects.)
- Every inference response includes an **attestation certificate** you can check, so you can verify the TEE and its code on each request.
- Designed to help regulated organizations meet compliance obligations (for example, GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2).

:::callout{intent="note"}
Don't need confidential-computing protections? A [Standard Vault](/guides/model-vault-standard-overview) offers
the same managed, single-tenant deployment without the encryption-in-use and attestation features.
:::

## Deploy an Encrypted Vault

Follow the shared flow, choosing the **Encrypted** option when you create the vault:

::::steps{titleSize="h3"}
:::step{title="Understand what Encrypted Vaults protect"}
Review the [Security Model](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-security-model) to understand the trust
boundary and threat model, specifically who is (and is not) able to access your data.
:::

:::step{title="Learn the foundations (optional)"}
New to confidential computing? Read the
[Confidential Computing Primer](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-confidential-computing) for a quick
grounding in TEEs, secure enclaves, and GPU confidential computing.
:::

:::step{title="Create your vault"}
Provision a vault as usual and choose the encrypted option. See
[Creating a Vault](/guides/model-vault-creating-a-vault).
:::

:::step{title="Understand how verification works"}
You do not have to verify manually before each request: the Cohere OHTTP proxy checks the
deployment's attestation automatically and refuses the connection if it does not pass. To understand
what is checked, and how you can inspect the evidence yourself, see
[Remote Attestation](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-attestation) and
[Verifying Your Deployment](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-verifying-deployment).
:::

:::step{title="Configure encryption and keys"}
Review [Encryption & Key Management](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-encryption-key-management) to
understand how data is protected in transit, at rest, and in use, and how keys (and ZDR) are handled.
:::

:::step{title="Call your vault"}
Make inference requests using your vault endpoint. See
[Using the API with an Encrypted Vault](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-api-usage), where the Cohere OHTTP
proxy verifies the deployment's attestation and encrypts every request before any data leaves your
machine.
:::

:::step{title="Confirm compliance"}
Check [Compliance](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-compliance) for how Encrypted Vaults map to GDPR,
HIPAA, SOC 2, and audit-logging requirements.
:::
::::

## What's specific to Encrypted Vaults

- [Security Model](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-security-model)
- [Confidential Computing Primer](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-confidential-computing)
- [Remote Attestation](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-attestation)
- [Verifying Your Deployment](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-verifying-deployment)
- [Encryption & Key Management](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-encryption-key-management)
- [Compliance](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-compliance)
- [Using the API with an Encrypted Vault](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-api-usage)
- [Supported Models](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-supported-models)
- [Pricing](/guides/model-vault-encrypted-pricing)

## Related pages

- [Supported Models](./model-vault-encrypted-supported-models.md)
- [Calling an Encrypted Vault over the API](./model-vault-encrypted-api-usage.md)
- [Security](./model-vault-security.md)
- [Model Vault Encrypted Pricing](./model-vault-encrypted-pricing.md)
- [Frequently Asked Questions About Model Vault Encrypted](./model-vault-encrypted-faq.md)

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