This article discusses the main phases involved in the lifecycle of a cryptographic key, and how the operational lifetime of a key and its strength can be determined.

Through many parts of the world, including the European Union and the United States, digital signing has been adopted as a way to implement electronic signatures that are considered legally binding. This article introduces digital signatures, digital certificates and the relationship between digital signatures and PKCS #7.

The 2015 Revised Directive on Payment Services (commonly referred to as PSD2) lays the groundwork for safe and secure payments across the European Union. PSD2 places a significant impetus on ensuring that adequate safeguards are put in place to prevent fraud and other unauthorized use of payment mechanisms.

Last November saw the adoption of the Delegated Regulation on Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) by the European Commission. The objective of this regulation is to provide for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and establish secure channels of communications.

The European Commission adopted the Delegated Regulation on Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) in November 2017. These standards provide detailed specifications to achieve the strict security requirements for payment service providers in the EU.

Part 3: Choosing the Right Key Management System

In this concluding part, we will examine the business case for introducing a new key management system and define 20 criteria to help you select the optimal solution for both your current and future needs.

Part 2: The Requirement for a Key Management System

In Part 1of this three-part article, we introduced the concept of key management and the functions and benefits of a key management system. In this part, we will consider how the requirement for a new key management system arises and then explore the underlying business drivers and benefits of such a system in each scenario.

Part 1: What is a Key Management System?

In this, the first part of a three-part article, we start off by looking at what key management is, the function of a key management system and the benefits it provides.

This article is intended as a primer on the classification of cryptographic keys used for securing digital applications.