Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Secure Boot and vTPM

Secure Boot is a feature of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), which is responsible for booting the system. It ensures that only trusted software is loaded during the boot process.

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a hardware chip that provides secure storage for cryptographic keys and other sensitive data. A Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) performs the same functions as a TPM, but it performs cryptographic coprocessor capabilities in software. While TPM can enhance security, it’s not a requirement for Secure Boot.

See the following for more information on supported cloud services:

Secure Boot and vTPM in Google Cloud Platform

You can provision shielded virtual machines on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Shielded VM’s verifiable integrity is achieved by using the following features:

  • Secure Boot
  • vTPM-enabled Measured Boot
  • Integrity monitoring

For more information on using PowerShell to create a catalog with shielded VM, see Using PowerShell to create a catalog with shielded VM.

Secure Boot and vTPM in Microsoft Azure

In Azure environments, you can create machine catalogs enabled with Trusted Launch. Azure offers Trusted Launch as a seamless way to improve the security of generation 2 VMs. Trusted Launch protects against advanced and persistent attack techniques. To enable Trusted Launch, use a machine profile-based catalog configuration. At the root of Trusted Launch is Secure Boot for your VM. Trusted Launch also uses the vTPM to perform remote attestation by the cloud. This is used for platform health checks and for making trust-based decisions. You can individually enable Secure Boot and vTPM. For more information on creating a machine catalog with Trusted Launch, see Machine catalogs with Trusted launch.

vTPM in VMware

MCS supports creating a machine catalog with vTPM. If windows 11 is installed on the master image, then it is a requirement to have vTPM enabled for the master image. If machine profile-based configuration is used and vTPM is enabled, then VMs in the catalog inherit the same vTPM content from the VM template. If the machine profile is not used and the master image is vTPM enabled, then VMs in the catalog have blank vTPM. For more information, see Create a machine catalog using a machine profile.

Secure Boot and vTPM