Secure key management

• US 9,306,745 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2012
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Arnold, Todd W., Dames, Elizabeth A., Frehr, Carsten D., Kelly, Michael J., Kerr, Kenneth B., Kisley, Richard V., Rossman, Eric D., Smith, Eric B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Holder, Bradley
• Application Number:
  US13/652,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20130039494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,268 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/088 Usage controlling of secret information, e.g. techniques for restricting cryptographic keys to pre-authorized uses, different access levels, validity of crypto-period, different key- or password length, or different strong and weak cryptographic algorithms network architectures or network communication protocols for using time-dependent keys in a packet data network H04L63/068
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0897 involving additional devices, e.g. trusted platform module [TPM], smartcard or USB

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a method for implementing secure key management is provided. The method includes populating a section of information associated with a key, the section being populated with information relating to how the key was created. The method also includes populating the section with information relating to how the key was acquired by a secure module; and binding the section to the key, wherein the key is encrypted.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for secure key creation and management via a secure token, comprising:

acquiring, by a secure module comprising a first computer system, a key that was created on a second computer system that is located outside of the secure module;

acquiring, by the secure module, a section of information associated with the key, the section of information being populated with information relating to how the key was created;

populating, by the secure module, the section of information with information relating to how the key was acquired by the secure module; and

binding, by the secure module, the section of information to the key, the key being encrypted when the key is located outside of the secure module;

the section of information associated with the key comprising a key control information section of a key token, the key token including the key;

the key control information section and the key being located in the key token when outside the secure module, and the key control information section being not encrypted when outside the secure module;

the key control information section comprising a key management field; and

the key management field defining attributes of the key wrapped in the key token, the attributes including;

what type of key encrypting key can be used to wrap the key, whether the wrapped key is complete or expects more user contributed material, how the key was created, how the key was acquired, and information relating to protection of the key over time.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising enabling an action for the key based on at least one of the information relating to the how the key was created and the information relating to how the key was acquired.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the section of information comprises extensible fields.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein populating the section of information with information relating to how the key was acquired by the secure module occurs as the key is received by the secure module.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein populating the section of information with information relating to how the key was created comprises one of importing the information related to how the key was created as the key is imported into the secure module and populating the information related to how the key was created as the key is created in the secure module.