US Patent 9639671 Secure execution of encrypted program instructions

Provided are facilities for secure execution of an encrypted executable comprising an encrypted instruction. The secure execution includes obtaining the encrypted instruction, decrypting the encrypted instruction using a decryption key being maintained in a secure location within a processor, and storing the decrypted instruction to a secure storage for execution, where the decryption key remains in the secure location during the decrypting and the storing to facilitate maintaining security of the decryption key.