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

March, 2007
6. Destroyed Compromised state: The key is destroyed after a compromise, or the key is
destroyed and a compromise is later discovered. Key attributes (e.g., key name, type, and
cryptoperiod) may be retained. This state differs from the destroyed state in that keys in
this state are known, or suspected, to have been compromised (see Section 8.4).
7.2 Key State Transitions
Transitions between states are triggered by events, such as the expiration of a cryptoperiod or the
detection of a compromise of a key. Figure 3 depicts the key states and transitions.
1
2
Pre-
Activation
4
3
7
Active
(Protect Only
Process Only
Protect and Process)
6
Deactivated
(Process Only)
Destroyed
5
8
10
Compromised
(process only)
9
Destroyed
Compromised
Figure 3: Key states and transitions
Transition 1: A key enters the pre-activation state immediately upon generation.
Transition 2: A key that is never used may transition from the pre-activation state directly
to the destroyed state. In this case, the integrity of a key or the confidentiality
of a key requiring confidentiality protection is considered trustworthy, but it
has been determined that the key will not be needed in the future.
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