What Is a Key Management Server?

What Is a Key Management Server?

A key management server is used to manage the life cycle of cryptogenic keys and provide protection from misuse and loss. Key management servers and other keys help to control the storage, usage, encryption, generation and deleted encryption keys. For complete protection, the loss or misuse companies must limit entries to the keys either by controlling the user with the defined rules or by limiting the physical access.

Critical components:

To protect online data, it is very necessary to understand the components of a key management server.

• Store key:

As a general rule the company, organization, or a person who stores the coded content should not store the coded key for that content unless you provide access to the data.

• Policy management:

The basic function of encryption key management is to protect the data it also can control the encrypted data. Policy management allows adding the individual. For example, set a policy on encryption keys, a company prevent, expire and revoke to share the unencrypted data and keys.

• Authorization:

Authorization is a verification; it verifies the action person performed on the coded data once the data has been authenticated. It is a procedure that forces the encryption policies and makes sure that the creator of the contents has control over the data that has been shared.

• Authentication:

it is necessary to verify that the decoded key provided by a person allowed to receive it. There are several ways for coded digital content.

• key transmission:

This is the last and final step of encryption key management it is related to providing keys to the people who need these keys and restricted to those who do not need them.

key management life cycle:

key management server follows a life cycle it ensures that the key is used, store and rotate securely. Most of the cryptographic keys follow a lifecycle including keys,

• generation
• distribution
• use
• store
• rotation
• backup
• destruction.