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

Proof of possession
(POP)
Pseudorandom number
generator (PRNG)
March, 2007
A verification process whereby it is proven that the owner of a key pair
actually has the private key associated with the public key. The owner
demonstrates possession by using the private key in its intended
manner.
See Deterministic Random Bit Generator (DRBG).
Public key A cryptographic key used with a public key cryptographic algorithm
that is uniquely associated with an entity and that may be made public.
In an asymmetric (public) cryptosystem, the public key is associated
with a private key. The public key may be known by anyone and,
depending on the algorithm, may be used to:
1. Verify a digital signature that is signed by the corresponding
private key,
2. Encrypt data that can be decrypted by the corresponding private
key, or
3. Compute a piece of shared data.
Public key certificate A set of data that uniquely identifies an entity, contains the entity's
public key and possibly other information, and is digitally signed by a
trusted party, thereby binding the public key to the entity. Additional
information in the certificate could specify how the key is used and its
cryptoperiod.
Public key
(asymmetric)
cryptographic
algorithm
Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI)
Random number
generator (RNG)
A cryptographic algorithm that uses two related keys, a public key and
a private key. The two keys have the property that determining the
private key from the public key is computationally infeasible.
A framework that is established to issue, maintain and revoke public
key certificates.
A process used to generate an unpredictable series of numbers. Each
individual value is called random if each of the values in the total
population of values has an equal probability of being selected.
Recipient usage period The period of time during the cryptoperiod of a symmetric key during
which the protected information is processed.
Registration Authority A trusted entity that establishes and vouches for the identity of a user.
Retention Period The minimum amount of time that a key or other cryptographic related
information should be retained in the archive.
RNG seed A secret value that is used to initialize a deterministic random bit
generator.
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