Entrust Cipher Tools

Entrust hardware module support libraries

Entrust is the world’s leading manufacturer of hardware cryptographic modules (Hardware Security Module / HSM), i.e. specialized devices dedicated to performing complex mathematical operations related to the generation of electronic keys and certificates, and to supporting the process of encrypting data transmission in real time. However, in order for specific client applications (designed to perform possible cryptographic operations on the machines on which they are installed) to take advantage of the enormous computing power of Entrust’s embedded processors, it is necessary to adapt them to work with these devices. This functionality is realized through the use of specific software functions that make computational demands and receive the results of these operations (e.g., in the form of keys and certificates). In order to include as many applications as possible in the group of programs using HSM modules, Entrust decided to include in the list of its products libraries of the mentioned functions, ready for independent use by C/C++/JAVA developers, without further involvement of the hardware manufacturer. A set of such libraries includes the CipherTools Developer Kit product. The libraries in the CipherTools Developer Kit are, in fact, the interface between the function environments (Application Programming Interface / API ) of the operating system’s cryptographic functions. Examples of API environments with which functions developed by Entrust work include implementations of PKCS#11 (support for chip cards and tokens for data storage), Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) for Microsoft Cryptographic API (MS-CAPI), OpenSSL, CSP for JAVA language (JCA/JCE) and Crypto Hardware Interface Library (CHIL).