Volume 5
June 2016 Edition
Suddenly, the idea that one’s keys and PKI could get • Determine what data is important and find out
compromised and millions of devices could be put in
where it is: To encrypt your data effectively, you
jeopardy hits home. The scope of the business probhave to know where it is, which means you
lem rises from an interesting niche problem set to
have to begin the process of data categorizaone with existential implications for modern eComtion.
merce.
• Encrypt what matters: Critical data must be
treated as such; it’s too risky to leave data in
It’s Happened Before
the clear during any phase of its lifecycle.
This is not a Chicken Little exercise; it has been • Opt for an HSM: These devices offer a hardborne out in the real world. The Heartbleed bug, a
ened, secure root of trust to enable a higher deserious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL crypgree of security when deploying cryptographic
tographic software library, provides an example of
technology.
what can go wrong. Heartbleed acts like a guided • Make the knowledge investments needed:
missile looking for SSL keys. Once a hacker exfilCrypto is a tool; using that tool wisely implies
trates a copy of those keys, he or she can act as a
understanding how the tool works. Invest in
man in the middle. But Heartbleed was a memory
your people and in the basics building blocks
scraper; it works only if the organization is doing its
of cryptographic technology. You’ll increase the
crypto on the server, in which case the keys are in
probability of a secure deployment and scare
plain text in memory. However, if the organization is
off the majority of attackers.
securing its SSL keys within an HSM,
• Don’t be fooled by the false promise of software-based crypto: Make a vow that the keys
Heartbleed can’t see them.
will only be used within the parameters of an
Another lesson can be drawn from Stuxnet, whose
HSM.
authors stole code-signing certificates and their associated private keys from a pair of unaware Tai- HSMs have been around for decades, but they’ve
wanese component manufacturers. This enabled remained a niche player until now, when the Interthe Worm to replicate itself across servers, quietly net and its billions of connected things are creatinstalling copies of itself using stolen code signing ing a security challenge unlike any in history. Once
keys to mask its origin and intent. If those code sign- considered too expensive to be practical, HSMs
ing keys had been maintained and used within an are now understood as being a critical component
HSM, Stuxnet would have happened to someone in safeguarding both data and company reputaelse.
tions. For organizations dealing with a high volume
of keys, they are an essential component of the
Five Keys to Modern Data Security
modern, hardened crypto system because they
Without rock-solid key management systems and raise the probability of deploying cryptography in
practices, cryptography cannot stand. For example, a secure and unbreakable fashion.
if the root key of a PKI is compromised, the entire
system collapses. To avoid scenarios like Heartbleed
and Stuxnet, follow these simple best practices:
10