Crypto hardware with secure key storage

Thor Lancelot Simon tls at rek.tjls.com
Fri May 19 14:52:13 EDT 2006


I'm trying to investigate which of the current high-end PCI crypto
accellerators include secure storage of key material -- that is, the
use model where one loads, say, an RSA private key or key for a symmetric
cipher into the device one, receives a reference, and can later, even
after device power down, tell the card "use key with reference X for this
operation".

I realize that there are ways to do this without actual persistent storage
on the card, e.g. encryption of the key with a symmetric cipher using a
secret key stored in the card, which allows the cleartext key to be disposed
of so long as the card can be told "okay, decrypt and use this key" in the
future.  That's fine, too.

I've run into some vendors who claim to support "secure key storage"
but turn out to mean something else by it.  I'm specifically looking
for a device that accellerates pubkey operations and is aimed at SSL.

If people with experience with particular hardware want to share that
with me in private rather than broadcasting it to the list, that's fine,
too; I'm just trying to select a device to meet an immediate need and
am okay with not shouting out a comparison of vendor capabilites to the
entire world (though I do think it is regrettable that there's a lack
of information on this kind of device capability anywhere public).

-- 
  Thor Lancelot Simon	                                     tls at rek.tjls.com

  "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral
   aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others."      - H.L.A. Hart

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