Trusted paper key

Trusted paper key

A trusted paper key (TPK) is a machine-readable print of a cryptographic key. The printed key can be used to decrypt data, e.g. archives or backup data. A trusted paper key can be the result of an offline private key protocol.

The paper-printed key is based on the idea that a digital key to decrypt and recover sensitive or personal data should have long-term durability and not be stored on any computer or network. Secure cryptographic keys, however, are long and impossible to memorize. Instead, the secret key is presented to the user as a machine-readable print, using 2D barcode technology. Early implementations of the trusted paper key use a Data Matrix barcode.

The user can store the printed key in a (bank) safe or at relatives. To avoid abuse, the key can only be used in combination with a ‘normal’ password.

The user can extract the key by creating a digital photo or scan of their paper key and feed it to cryptographic software that extracts the key to decrypt the data.

See also

* Offline private key protocol


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Trusted Computing — (TC) is a technology developed and promoted by the Trusted Computing Group. The term is taken from the field of trusted systems and has a specialized meaning. With Trusted Computing the computer will consistently behave in specific ways, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Trusted timestamping — is the process of securely keeping track of the creation and modification time of a document. Security here means that no one not even the owner of the document should be able to change it once it has been recorded provided that the timestamper s …   Wikipedia

  • Offline private key protocol — The offline private key protocol (OPKP) is a cryptographic protocol to prevent unauthorized access to back up or archive data. The protocol results in a public key that can be used to encrypt data and an offline private key that can later be used …   Wikipedia

  • Offline private key — An offline private key is a cryptographic key that is not stored on a network connected medium. The key can be used to decrypt archive or backup data. The key can be the result of an offline private key protocol. In printed form the key can be a… …   Wikipedia

  • Trusted computing base — The trusted computing base (TCB) of a computer system is the set of all hardware, firmware, and/or software components that are critical to its security, in the sense that bugs occurring inside the TCB might jeopardize the security properties of… …   Wikipedia

  • Transient-key cryptography — is a form of public key cryptography wherein keypairs are generated and assigned to brief intervals of time instead of to individuals or organizations. In a transient key system, private keys are used briefly and then destroyed, which is why it… …   Wikipedia

  • Public key infrastructure — In cryptography, a public key infrastructure (PKI) is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate authority (CA). The user identity must be unique for each CA. The binding is established through …   Wikipedia

  • Public key fingerprint — In public key cryptography, a public key fingerprint is a short sequence of bytes used to authenticate or look up a longer public key. Fingerprints are created by applying a cryptographic hash function to a public key. Since fingerprints are… …   Wikipedia

  • Distributed key generation — For some protocols no party should be in the sole possession of the secret key. Rather, during distributed key generation every party obtains a share of the key. A threshold of the participating parties need to cooperate in order to achieve a… …   Wikipedia

  • Topics in cryptography — This article is intended to be an analytic glossary , or alternatively, an organized collection of annotated pointers.Classical ciphers*Autokey cipher *Permutation cipher*Polyalphabetic substitution **Vigenère cipher*Polygraphic substitution… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”