Cryptographic Token Interface Standard

PKCS#11


General overview


Sections

Design goals
General model
Logical view of a token
Users
Applications and their use of Cryptoki
Sessions
Secondary authentication (Deprecated)
Function overview

Detailed Description

Portable computing devices such as smart cards, PCMCIA cards, and smart diskettes are ideal tools for implementing public-key cryptography, as they provide a way to store the private-key component of a public-key/private-key pair securely, under the control of a single user. With such a device, a cryptographic application, rather than performing cryptographic operations itself, utilizes the device to perform the operations, with sensitive information such as private keys never being revealed. As more applications are developed for public-key cryptography, a standard programming interface for these devices becomes increasingly valuable. This standard addresses this need.
RSA Security Inc. Public-Key Cryptography Standards - PKCS#11 - v230base