Part 1: General - Computer Security Resource Center - National ...

March, 2007
1. Section 1, Introduction, establishes the purpose, scope and intended audience of the
Recommendation for Key Management
2. Section 2, Glossary of Terms and Acronyms, provides definitions of terms and acronyms
used in this part of the Recommendation for Key Management. The reader should be
aware that the terms used in this recommendation may be defined differently in other
documents.
3. Section 3, Security Services, defines the security services that may be provided using
cryptographic mechanisms.
4. Section 4, Cryptographic Algorithms, provides background information regarding the
cryptographic algorithms that use cryptographic keying material.
5. Section 5, General Key Management Guidance, classifies the different types of keys and
other cryptographic information according to their uses, discusses cryptoperiods and
recommends appropriate cryptoperiods for each key type, provides recommendations and
requirements for other keying material, introduces assurance of domain parameter and
public key validity, discusses the implications of the compromise of keying material, and
provides guidance on cryptographic algorithm strength selection implementation and
replacement.
6. Section 6, Protection Requirements for Cryptographic Information, specifies the
protection that each type of information requires and identifies methods for providing this
protection. These protection requirements are of particular interest to cryptographic
module vendors and application implementers.
7. Section 7, Key States, identifies the states in which a cryptographic key may exist during
its lifetime.
8. Section 8, Key Management Phases and Functions, identifies four phases and a multitude
of functions involved in key management. This section is of particular interest to
cryptographic module vendors and developers of cryptographic infrastructure services.
9. Section 9, Accountability, Audit, and Survivability, discusses three control principles that
are used to protect the keying material identified in Section 5.2.
10. Section 10, Key Management Specifications for Cryptographic Devices or Applications,
specifies the content and requirements for key management specifications. Topics
covered include the communications environment, component requirements, keying
material storage, access control, accounting, and compromise recovery.
Appendices A and B are provided to supplement the main text where a topic demands a more
detailed treatment. Appendix C contains a list of appropriate references, and Appendix D
contains a list of changes to the originally published version of this document.
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