DeepSec 2019 Talk: Demystifying Hardware Security Modules — How to Protect Keys in Hardware — Michael Walser *

[Editorial note: Cryptography is one of our favourite topics. This is why we invited experts from sematicon AG to show some of their skills and help you navigate through the jungle of false promises by vendors, magic bullets, and misuse of the word „crypto”.]

A secure crypto-algorithm is based on the fact that only the key needs to be kept secret, not the algorithm itself. The key is of high value and must be protected. In this talk we will have a look at how to protect keys and why a dedicated hardware is needed to make sure the key is kept secret and always under the control of the owner. Different use cases require different HSMs (Hardware Security Modules). We will have a look at data centres and cloud HSMs as well as at desktops and embedded solutions like industrial equipment or IoT-Devices.

Afterwards you can visit us at our booth to see market leading HSMs in action and you will have the possibility to discuss features and functions with long-term crypto experts.

We asked Michael a few more questions about his talk.

Please tell us the top 5 facts about your talk.

• Isolate keys and secrets from users
• always isolate keys from applications and firmware
• operate with keys only in isolated environments