Cyphera Research
Cyphera Research explores secure infrastructure below the application layer — memory-safe kernel work, Rust POSIX/libc integration, secure runtime foundations, and the early work toward CypheraOS.
The direction
Most real-world commercial security stacks still depend on memory-unsafe components somewhere below the application layer — kernels, runtimes, libc implementations, drivers, firmware, hypervisors, or supporting infrastructure. U.S. and allied cybersecurity agencies have increasingly pushed software producers toward memory-safety roadmaps because memory-safety vulnerabilities remain a major class of exploitable software defects.
Cyphera Research is investigating how far that layer can be replaced with memory-safe Rust while preserving practical compatibility with existing Unix/Linux software. The long-term direction is "Rust all the way down" — not as a slogan for a clean-slate experiment, but as a progressive replacement of low-level system components while keeping real workloads running.
Current work
- Cyphera Kernel — a Rust-based kernel targeting Linux ABI compatibility, with broad x86_64 syscall coverage and real software (containers, databases, shells) validated against the prototype. Now open source — v0.0.1 on GitHub ↗.
- Cyphera Runtime — Rust POSIX/libc compatibility layer for the userland boundary.
cyphera-libcprovides the Rust libc and POSIX-compatibility surface that lets standard C/POSIX-oriented software run without a traditional C libc. - Secure runtime foundations — userland compatibility experiments, isolation primitives, and trusted-execution research related to SEV-SNP, TDX, and Nitro Enclaves.
- CypheraOS — the packaged operating-system stack that combines the Cyphera Kernel, Cyphera Runtime, and Cyphera Platform services into deployable images. Read more →
Status
Cyphera Research is active prototype work. It is not currently positioned as a finished general-purpose Linux replacement. The focus is research validation, compatibility experiments, and identifying the minimum trusted stack required for practical secure infrastructure.
Real software validated on the prototype kernel so far includes PostgreSQL, container runtimes with Alpine userland, busybox, and standard developer tools (strace, gdb). Verification work includes Kani-based proofs for selected low-level properties and continuous fuzzing of low-level dependencies.
Release model
Cyphera uses a mixed release model. Selected components are released as open source under permissive licenses, including the FPE SDKs and reference implementations. Other research and platform work — including memory-safe kernel and OS efforts — may be released as packaged images, AMIs, hosted services, or private pilots depending on maturity, security considerations, and deployment goals.
Source publication decisions for individual research components will be made component-by-component as the work matures. The first of those decisions is made: the Cyphera Kernel is open source — its initial release (v0.0.1) is public at github.com/cyphera-labs/cyphera-kernel.
Working with us
Cyphera Research is developed by Horizon Digital Engineering LLC. We are interested in research partners, pilot users, and non-dilutive funding opportunities in trusted computing, secure runtime infrastructure, embedded systems, and defense software modernization.
Reach out via contact for collaboration, evaluation access, or technical discussion.