PKI - Key Management
Key Management
A Public Key Infrastructure is a hierarchal system permitting the issuance,
exchange, and use of digital identities based on asymmetric keys. In
a PKI, a private key is used for digital signing and authentication,
and digital certificates are used to distribute the public Key portion
of a key pair. The digital certificates in turn verify digital signatures.
PKI-secured identities and data can span the globe via computers linked
to the Internet, helping users shop safely online, verifying who e-mail
came from, controlling access to files on hard drives, and securing
confidential records through encryption.
As certificates have become essential components in electronic business
transactions, the need to maintain the integrity of those certificates
- and the public key infrastructure (PKI) as a whole - has increased.
If a private key is compromised, the integrity of financial transactions,
business processes, and intricate access control systems is compromised
as well.
The Importance of Key Management
Key management ensures the secure storage and protection of private
keys integral to the security of a PKI. If someone other than the actual
holder of the key gains access to a private key, the PKI security model
is compromised. Therefore, in a PKI environment, particularly one critical
to business processes, financial transactions, or access controls, it
is essential that private keys be guarded with a reliable key management
solution.
SafeNet Luna® hardware security modules (HSM) are purpose-built
hardware devices that store sensitive cryptographic private keys and
perform cryptographic operations. SafeNet Luna HSMs work , for example,
with a Certificate Authority application that issues digital identity
certificates to secure the application’s private keys and cryptographic
operations. Luna HSMs feature true hardware key management for the highest
levels of assurance – all keys are created, stored, and used exclusively
within the HSM FIPS validated hardware to provide the highest level
of key protection assurance.
SafeNet Luna HSM products provide the assurance, performance, and
security needed for the most demanding key management solutions. All
SafeNet Luna HSMs are FIPS validated, provide true hardware key management,
and offer tight integration with leading security applications to make
it easy to add hardware key management to enterprise security applications.
SafeNet Luna Products for Key Management:
- Luna SA
High-performance network-attached HSM
- Luna CA4
PKI Root Key management system
- iKey
Personal USB Identity Token
PKI
SafeNet Luna® hardware security products enhance security applications
by adding security, performance, and manageability to complex cryptographic
processes. SafeNet's dedicated hardware security products protect sensitive
cryptographic keys and processes within FIPS validated hardware, eliminate
processing bottlenecks with dedicated cryptographic acceleration, and
establish clear audit trails for all key materials through rigorous
key management policies.
Large financial institutions, leading enterprises and government agencies
maximize the security, performance and auditability of their PKI applications
by protecting cryptographic keys with SafeNet Luna hardware. Luna hardware
security modules (HSMs) work in conjunction with software applications
to store and secure the application's sensitive private encryption keys
and accelerate cryptographic operations.
SafeNet Luna HSMs provide hardware solutions for securing a wide range
of solutions:
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