2025-09-26 –, Social Hub Main Room
Building on "Qubes Air: Hardware, Firmware, and Architectural Foundations" talk, this session outlines an opinionated vision of Qubes Air vertical integration, explicitly addressing the needs of security-conscious technical professionals like security researchers, developers, privacy advocates, and
SMEs operating in the surrounding ecosystem. Grounded in Kicksecure/Whonix persona and threat model, it emphasizes potential vertical integration of secure thin clients and robust servers equipped in Dasharo and Qubes OS. The talk will explore leveraging recent qrexec-based RemoteVM advancements for secure delegation of sensitive workloads, attestation, TrenchBoot for enhanced platform trustworthiness, and preliminary PoCs demonstrating feasibility and value.
Participants will gain insights into:
- How Qubes Air aligns with the threat models and workflows of
security-sensitive users including comparison with non-Qubes Air workflow. - Leveraging qrexec's RemoteVM capabilities to securely delegate critical
workloads, including cryptographic operations, blockchain development, malware
analysis, and secure coding environments. - Preliminary Proof-of-Concept (PoC) demonstrations of RemoteVM functionality
as a key stepping stone towards broader adoption. - Implementation strategies for attestation using the TrenchBoot ecosystem,
contributing to verifiable platform integrity. - The business and security value proposition of vertically integrating
hardware, firmware, Qubes OS, and application software tailored for sensitive
technical workloads. - The presentation serves as an investor-focused pitch, highlighting both the
practical path forward and the high-value security outcomes achievable through
targeted ecosystem integration.
Piotr Król is an open-source firmware enthusiast and the founder of 3mdeb, established in March 2015. Rooted in the hacker ethos of collaboration and transparency, his work drives innovation in firmware resilience, platform security, and digital sovereignty.
At 3mdeb, Piotr leads projects such as Zarhus OS, a Yocto-based embedded Linux distribution, Dasharo, a downstream coreboot project focused on trustworthiness, privacy, and liberty, and PET (Pace Enterprise Training), a platform for advanced technical education. These initiatives support open development, transparency, the right to repair, and the long-term maintenance of open-source firmware-based systems.
Piotr’s technical focus spans Root of Trust, Secure/Verified/Measured Boot, TPM, UEFI, EDK II, coreboot, U-Boot, Yocto, and Linux. He regularly speaks at major industry events, including FOSDEM, Xen Developer Summit, and the Platform Security Summit, advocating for open-source solutions in platform security.
Committed to community knowledge-sharing, Piotr is also a trainer with OpenSecurityTraining2, contributing free and open learning resources to strengthen the global open-source firmware ecosystem.