What is the difference between a General Purpose HSM and a Financial HSM? (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a General Purpose HSM and a Financial HSM? ›

While the General Purpose HSM offers general cryptographic commands, the Financial HSM offers more specific cryptographic commands so that information does not leave the HSM. Finally, the security standards met by each one are also different, as we have seen above.

General Purpose HSMs (Hardware Security Modules) can be used in various industries and applications where secure key management, data protection, and cryptographic processing are essential. Here are some examples of use cases for General Purpose HSMs: Secure key storage and management.

There are two primary types of HSMs: general purpose and payment hardware security modules.

A payment HSM is a hardened, tamper-resistant hardware device that is used primarily by the retail banking industry to provide high levels of protection for cryptographic keys and customer PINs used during the issuance of magnetic stripe and EMV chip cards (and their mobile application equivalents) and the subsequent ...

A key management system is employed to provide efficient management of the entire lifecycle of cryptographic keys in accordance with particular compliance standards, whereas an HSM serves as the core component for the secure generation, protection, and usage of the keys.

CloudHSM is generally used for scenarios requiring stringent regulatory adherence and complete control over the Hardware Security Module (HSM). On the other hand, KMS offers a cost-efficient and user-friendly solution suitable for general key management tasks.

Hardware security modules (HSMs) are hardened, tamper-resistant hardware devices that secure cryptographic processes by generating, protecting, and managing keys used for encrypting and decrypting data and creating digital signatures and certificates.

Despite their benefits, HSMs also have some disadvantages that you should be aware of. One of the main disadvantages is that they are expensive and complex to deploy and maintain. HSMs require specialized hardware, software, and personnel to operate and manage them.

For example, a company might use an HSM to secure trade secrets or intellectual property by ensuring only authorized individuals can access the HSM to complete a cryptography key transfer.

Major HSM Providers

These solutions have a costly overhead a Gemalto HSM can be ~$29,000, Thales can be ~$9,500, and Utimaco can be ~$15,000. In addition, you need to store these HSM devices in a secure location which can cost an arm and a leg or even more.

Do banks use HSM? ›

What does a Payment HSM do? The payment industry, banks, and fintech companies rely on specialized payment HSMs to securely process functions such as: Verifying user-entered PIN against reference PIN held by card issuer.

HSMs are tamper-resistant/tamper-responding devices with memory/processor inside the protected envelope. With an HSM, your key lives inside, and all operations happen on the security processor. HSA is an Amazon term for a PC with an HSM inside.

Since the payment HSM generates all the data that pertains to the transaction, including cryptographic keys, CVC codes, and PINs, it can also authenticate all the codes for any transaction to identify whether the individual trying to make a payment or access funds is authorized to do so.

Hardware Security Modules can generate, rotate, and protect keys, and those keys generated by the HSM are always random. HSMs contain a piece of hardware that makes it possible for its computer to generate truly random keys, as opposed to a regular computer which cannot create a truly random key.

This communication is typically governed by the PKCS #11 standard which provides the requirements for this interaction. The result is a set of standard APIs that are used to ensure secure interaction between the KMS and HSM. HSMs are also commonly thought of as key management systems in their own right.

CipherTrust Manager internally uses a chain of key encryption keys (KEKs) to securely store and protect sensitive data such as user keys. When an HSM is used, the CipherTrust Manager generates and uses a set of keys on the HSM partition that protect the KEKs chain and become the root of trust.

HSM is considered for analyzing special cases Soft systems methodologies (SSM) areemployed in handling systems that cannotbe quantified. The answers developed arethus not quantified. Hard systems methodologies (HSM) involves using simulations, e.g. computer simulations.

When you use an HSM to protect cryptographic keys, you add a robust layer of security, preventing attackers from finding them. nShield HSMs are specially designed to establish a root of trust, safeguarding and managing cryptographic keys and processes within a certified hardware environment.

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) introduces a science-based technical approach that takes the guesswork out of safety analysis.