Cryptomathic Blog

Invented by Mohamed Atalla, the Atalla key block is the root of all key blocks. All over the globe, hundreds of millions of financial transactions are secured daily using hardware security modules (HSMs) and the Atalla key block format that follows TR-31 guidelines. Here we will explain a bit about AKB and why a banking-grade key management system (KMS) must support it.

In June 2019, the PCI Security Standards Council issued an information supplement titled PCI PIN Security Requirement 18-3 – Key Blocks, which requires that encrypted symmetric keys be managed in structures called “Key Blocks.”