Key management involves the entire key life-cycle: generation, exchange, storage, safeguarding, use, vetting, revocation, replacement and retirement.
6
votes
2answers
65 views
Backup schedule for Encryption Keys
How often should encryption keys be backed up?
Should this be done on the same schedule as the encrypted content/configuration? That seems excessive, as the keys do not change as often.
Perhaps ...
6
votes
1answer
99 views
Creating a Private Key using Human Intervention
In a hypothetical system, lets say that a design requirement is that people who snoop around the database of a web application (sysadmin gone rogue, or what have you), do not have access to the plain ...
5
votes
5answers
885 views
Should one sign and encrypt using the same key? The Azure Training Labs are taking this approach
I'm taking the Azure lab LoadBalancing with WCF and recognise what I have been told is bad from a security perspective, but am not sure if it applies here.
Can someone look at this code and tell me ...
5
votes
4answers
293 views
How do you guarantee that you don't lose a keyfile?
I am toying with the idea of adding keyfiles to various things I encrypt. However whats been keeping me from adopting them is garanteeing that I don't loose the keyfile while still keeping security.
...
5
votes
3answers
464 views
Where do I securely store the key for a system where the source is visible?
I have a customer with an Access database (ugh!) in which credit cards are stored in plaintext (yikes!), so amongst other changes I'm doing in the app, I'm applying some encryption in there.
I've ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the DUKPT Key Derivation Function?
I'm tasked with decrypting ciphertext acquired from an encrypted card reader. The card reader utilizes DUKPT(derived unique key per transaction) scheme and 3DES encryption. I don't have a problem with ...
5
votes
3answers
77 views
Does IPSec use IKE or ISAKMP?
Does the IPSec protocol suite use IKE or ISAKMP?
RFC 2828 states ISAKMP is the protocol used in IPSec to handle SAs, key management and system authentication. Other sources say IKE is the protocol ...
5
votes
2answers
682 views
Using TPM with DMcrypt?
Is it possible to use TPM for storage of some private key? It's not a full-disk encryption , I want it to be compatible with existing LUKS, just add another key, and store it in the TPM.
5
votes
2answers
154 views
Authenticating client without hardcoding key?
A basic question, but I'm not a master and this is puzzling me-
How is it possible to authenticate a client from the server's perspective?
i.e. imagine you're the server, and you want to give the ...
5
votes
1answer
191 views
How protective should we be of an SSL client certificate?
We've got an application where the database connection requires an SSL client certificate. How protective do we need to be of this certificate? What are the implications if someone else gets it?
I ...
5
votes
1answer
289 views
Is storing a private key in a device as it was done in AirPort Express the right solution?
Here's a story about how one guy reverse engineered AirPort Express and obtained the private key that was used to prevent cloning the device ability to stream audio to approved devices only.
So ...
5
votes
2answers
584 views
Generating one-time tokens from API-key?
I have a web-site for which I'm building a Drupal module that allows the users of that Drupal site to navigate to my web-site directly from the Drupal site.
I intend to distribute secret API-keys to ...
5
votes
1answer
275 views
Encrypting sensitive data in software and storing/decrypting it on a server
I have searched IT Security and Google for something similar to this, but wasn't able to find anything remotely related to what I'm doing.
I'm developing software which has 2 parts - a C# program run ...
5
votes
3answers
102 views
Should I make sure to get all of my OpenPGP uids are signed?
Should I make sure that I get all of the uids associated to my OpenPGP key signed, or is it enough to have one of them signed?
If Bob can guarantee that alice@example.com belongs to Alice, I can't ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Creating a “key server” (HIPAA compliance with AWS)
I'm a part of a small company that is going to be implementing HIPAA compliance. We will be seeking legal counsel, etc so anything heard here will not be taken as legal advice, etc. I just want to ...
5
votes
1answer
211 views
PKI solution vendor selection
What would you look for in a (X.509-) PKI solution, and why would you look for that, given the following constraints:
Available programming/sw-engineering know how is limited (ie, "OpenSSL with a ...
4
votes
3answers
152 views
Is there a common name for a software defect that leads to unexpected transfer of secret over the wire?
Suppose in a C++ program I use a memory region for temporarily storing an encryption key and don't overwrite that region afterwards. Then my program wants to send a data packet over the network.
Due ...
4
votes
3answers
302 views
What does it mean for a digital certificate to be “signed”?
When someone says that a particular digital certificate (like an SSL cert) has been "signed with a key", what does that imply? Does that mean the certificate simply includes a key that should be used ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
how to secure Android Market public key
Android's security manual says that it is not safe to keep market public key just as a string and it should be hidden/encoded somehow. I am new to android Can somebody please provide me with example ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
mysql AES_ENCRYPT key length
AES_ENCRYPT uses a 128 bit long key to encrypt the data, but how does mysql handle longer or shorter keys? I found out that pycrypto for instances recomend to transform the key by using md5 sha1 sha2, ...
4
votes
1answer
815 views
Encrypting data for Android mobile app
I am creating a mobile app for Android. This is my first mobile app by the way.
I have decided to store data used in my app in a SQLite database in the target Android device.
The data I am storing ...
4
votes
2answers
141 views
Question about the SessionLock paper
Some time ago there was a big fuzz over Firesheep: by listening to wifi traffic your login session can be stolen which is very bad because now somebody can e.g. send emails on your behalf. Some people ...
4
votes
3answers
296 views
Are there any serious problems with this technique for generating symmetric keys?
I'm using a technique borrowed out of a book by Bruce Schneier and Niels Ferguson called Practical Cryptography. Basically, it boils down to this:
Bob does this:
pubk_A = Alice's public key
...
4
votes
1answer
176 views
Storing License Keys
I'm creating an application which generates licenses key and stores this in a database (the licenses are checked on-line). I don't wish to store these license unhashed - in case the database is ...
4
votes
3answers
183 views
Security in wireless ad hoc sensor network (without physical access)
I want to know without taking physical access, what are the methods that can steal the data in a node.
When talking about eavesdropping, how can an attacker sniff the packets? Do they need to listen ...
4
votes
1answer
118 views
Truecrypt - One keyfile multiple passwords
Is it possible to create one keyfile that opens a Truecrypt volume and this keyfile is protected (aes encryption fe) with a password?
The use case is a True crypt volume accessed by multiple ...
4
votes
1answer
235 views
Help understanding PCI-DSS when using password based encryption from automatically generated keys
I've inherited the task of self-auditing an e-commerce system for compliance with the PCI-DSS.
We are storing the PAN in our database in encrypted form using 256 bit AES algorithm to do the ...
4
votes
1answer
600 views
Does GPG key expiration add to security?
I've created a new GPG key to sign a software package in a source repository, with an expiration date three years from now. It seemed like a good security measure, because if the key is compromised or ...
4
votes
2answers
777 views
PCI Compliant Key Management solutions that don't cost a fortune
We are relatively small software company who has a requirement to store PAN's for our customers. Hosted payment solutions just don't fit our product requirements. We literally have 3 lines of ...
4
votes
0answers
171 views
Migrating GPG master keys as subkeys to new master key
Currently I have 3 private GPG pairs which are all master keys.
I want to convert these keys into subkeys for a new key pair (and keep that in the vault).
I have read the following thread ...
3
votes
1answer
360 views
Is this security/encryption scheme secure?
I'm rolling my own, personal threetags.com-style 'encrypted data in the cloud' webapp (I didn't like the UI, and lack of non-browser client).
However, I have absolutely no experience with security ...
3
votes
4answers
672 views
Asymmetric crypto: Decrypt own messages without having private key
I have built a messages system for my website. Users can send the admin messages which are stored in the DB after being AES-encrypted.
I think that using asymmetric crypto (RSA through openssl) ...
3
votes
2answers
755 views
How to store IV and key temporarily but securely
I am using .NET 4.0 to develop a Windows service that will temporarily store encrypted data in a database. The data will be encrypted when it is inserted, then decrypted, processed, and deleted once ...
3
votes
3answers
148 views
How to secure SSH such that multiple users can log in to one account?
Consider a generic up-to-date Linux distro hosting a web server. I need three humans to occasionally SSH into the same user account to perform some action that can only be done by that particular user ...
3
votes
2answers
210 views
How many GPG keys should I make?
I am learning how to use GPG keys, and I am wondering what is the threshold people generally use to maintain separate GPG keys. Maintaining an incredibly large number of keys is not good since it ...
3
votes
5answers
383 views
How can I explain the concept of public and private keys without technical jargon? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Principle of asymmetric algorithm in plain english
In the spirit of How can I explain SQL injection without technical jargon?, do you have any suggestions on how to ...
3
votes
2answers
374 views
How do open source projects handle secure artifacts?
Specifically, how are things like keystores handled, or other items needed to build or run an app?
In my case, I have a Chrome OS app that requires a keystore to build and publish to the Chrome Web ...
3
votes
2answers
494 views
When should I use Message layer encryption vs transport layer encryption
Basically I will be having to secure a connection between different hops. Therefore even if TLS is widely known to be the best in class, I am wondering that in such a case message based encryption ...
3
votes
3answers
106 views
Encrypting a fixed format message with commands and transmitting over the internet
Linked to: Encrypting a fixed format message?
I need to communicate from Site A, a set of information that will be presented to users of Site A, which when they choose to submit, should travel to my ...
3
votes
4answers
320 views
Generating OpenPGP key pair with restrictions
I intend to generate an OpenPGP RSA key pair where a part (~half) of the private key is as I specify, i.e. a specific string. Are there tools for generating a key pair with such restrictions, or will ...
3
votes
4answers
160 views
Using dynamic keys
It is intuitively clear that, the less materials a cryptanalyst has available to work on, the lower would be his chance of success. This implies that the security of encryption of a message could be ...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
Encrypting a fixed format message?
I'm planning to send across TWO pieces of information over the internet from machine A
A site identifier which will be like:
$SiteName = "EXAMPLE" (in plaintext)
Encoded text which will be like:
...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
How do I use C# to encrypt/decrypt data where the private key is on a smartcard, hardware security module, TPM chip etc
Is anyone aware of a C# code sample to interact with smartcard, hardware security module, TPM chips (etc), that will allow me to encrypt and decrypt data?
My goal is to allow my application to ...
3
votes
2answers
146 views
What is a good general purpose GnuPG key setup?
Since most key types can be used for multiple purposes, namely certification, authentication, encryption and signatures, one could simply use one key for everything - which is a bad idea, as ...
3
votes
2answers
180 views
A SW system constructed with Microsoft CNG can be FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Compliant?
We have to design and construct a system that signs files with sensible data, like evidences/proofs. The sign process is simple, basically calculate MD5 of the file content and encrypt the MD5 result ...
3
votes
1answer
482 views
Storage of 'secrets', keystores, HSMs and the rest
I've been digging for the past few days into storage of sentitive data. If I store this data in a database, I believe the general accepted practice is to store sensitive data encrypted, for various ...
3
votes
1answer
147 views
Help on interpretation of FIPS-140 paragraph
This is from the FIPS 140-2 standard:
Cryptographic keys stored within a
cryptographic module shall be stored
either in plaintext form or encrypted
form. Plaintext secret and private
...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
Symmetric key management
I am currently employing GNU Crypto in Java and I am now deciding on the best way to store the keys.
The question Storage of 'secrets', keystores, HSMs and the rest has led me to believe the ...
3
votes
1answer
99 views
Key Management for PCI and Payment automation
We're a bootstrapped startup looking to achieve PCI compliance, we've almost nailed all requirements but I recently came across this blog post which totally derails our plans and efforts : ...
3
votes
1answer
170 views
How secure is to store encryption keys or SSH Keys on LPAR?
I want to store SSH keys (used to connect to some devices that have sensitive data) and the encryption/decryption keys of a database application. They will be inside a LPAR (logical partition) in our ...
