Glossary

Key terms, in plain words

Three terms come up all over this site. Here is what each one means, what it proves, and what it does not.

Proof-of-Task-Execution

PoTE · the receipt

A signed record of one job. It holds a fingerprint (hash) of what went in, a fingerprint of what came out, and when the job ran. A signature covers all of it, so any change shows. When our agents run, AugmentEV signs one for each finished agent job. MCP calls do not get one.

Why it matters

Logs can be edited later, by you, by us, or by anyone with access. A PoTE can't be changed without it showing. Change one character and its signature no longer checks out. When a customer, auditor or regulator asks "what exactly ran?", you give them the record_id. They check it themselves.

How AugmentEV uses it

  • Signed with a post-quantum signature, for finished agent jobs
  • Anyone can check it, no account needed: augmentev.com/verify
  • Kept for at least six months under our Privacy Policy and DPA
What it does not prove: that your code does what you meant it to do. A PoTE proves the record is exactly what the platform signed. It proves the math, not the meaning. The full limits are on the security page.

Hardware attestation

remote attestation · the bouncer's ID check

Proof from the hardware itself, not from the operator, about the setup your job runs in. It shows which code was loaded and which protections are on. The hardware measures this before the job starts.

Why it matters

"Trust us, your data is kept apart" is a promise. Attestation is a hardware fact. The chip measures the setup and signs that measurement with a key built into the chip. Our verifier rejects a key if its protected area does not match the values you pinned.

How AugmentEV uses it

  • Our API service runs inside a protected hardware area (see below). A separate Confidential option is not offered today.
  • Each restart makes a new signing key. The hardware's signed report ties it to the protected area. That link is logged publicly before the key signs anything.
  • A completion record is checked against that key. So the record and the hardware proof are checked together.
What it does not prove: anything about the software you chose to run inside. Attestation vouches for the room, not the furniture.

Confidential computing

the sealed room

A chip feature that creates a sealed area called a "trust domain". Its memory and work are sealed off from the host operating system. They are also sealed off from the hypervisor (the software that runs virtual machines) and the cloud provider.

Why it matters

On ordinary cloud servers, your hosting provider can read your data, because their software sits under everything. The hardware removes the need to trust that layer. It is built so that the cloud provider cannot see inside. That turns "confidential computing" from a promise in a contract into a hardware fact.

How AugmentEV uses it

  • Our API service runs in a confidential virtual machine in production today
  • Paired with attestation (above), so you can check the seal. And with PoTE (above), so you can prove what ran.
What it does not prove: The hardware seals the work, but on its own it is not a certification. We do not claim formal validations such as FIPS 140-3.

Reading is good. Checking is better.

You can check everything above right now, without an account.

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