Crypto Hardware Device Support

Cryptlib has full support for the crypto capabilities of a variety of external crypto devices such as.

Cryptographic smart cards
Dallas iButtons
Datakeys
Hardware crypto accelerators
Fortezza cards

“Cryptlib, the Security Hardware Interface developer's choice”

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PKCS #11 devices

These devices will be used by Cryptlib to handle functions such as key generation and storage, certificate creation, digital signatures, and message en- and decryption. Typical applications include:

Running a certification authority inside tamper-resistant hardware
Smart-card based digital signatures
Message encryption/decryption in secure hardware

Cryptlib manages any device-specific interfacing requirements so that the programming interface for any crypto device is identical to Cryptlib's native interface, allowing existing applications which use Cryptlib to be easily and transparently migrated to using crypto devices (for an example of what smart-card-enabled code might look like, see the example code - it's exactly the same when smart cards or another type of crypto device is used).

The ability to mix and match crypto devices and the software-only implementation allows appropriate tradeoffs to be chosen between flexibility, cost, and security.