An embodiment of the present invention is a technique to protect memory. A memory identifiers storage stores memory identifiers associated with protected components. The memory identifiers include exclusive memory identifiers and shared memory identifiers. The memory identifier storage is protected from access by a host operating system. A memory identifier management service (MMS) manages the memory identifiers. The MMS resides in a protected environment. An access control enforcer (ACE) enforces an access control policy with the memory identifiers.