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Panel
titleStakeholders


Name

Organisation

Role 
Nicole Harris GÉANT AssociationGN4-3 Operational perspective on HSM
Stefan WinterRESTENAGN4-3 eduroam service development lead
Miroslav MilinovicSRCEGN4-3 eduroam service owner
Davide VaghettiGARRGN4-3 eduGAIN service owner
Tomasz WolniewiczPSNCGN4-3 eduGAIN servivice operations manager
Dariusz JannyPSNCGN4-3 FaaS servivice operations manager


Activity Overview

Panel
titleDescription

This project investigates the usability of recently developed Cryptech HSM modules for various usecases we have in T&I in eduGAIN, eduroam, eduTEAMS, InAcademia and generally for federation operations.

The goal of the CrypTech project is to create an open-source hardware cryptographic engine that can be built by anyone from public hardware specifications and open-source firmware and operated without fees of any kind. The team working on the project is a loose international collective of engineers trying to improve assurance and privacy on the Internet. Several GEANT participating NRENs are principle investors and participants in this project.

In this phase we set up the devices to allow for testing and we collect the initial usecase we want to test and the people who will be testing.



Panel
titleGoals

Please describe the goals of pilot, including activities, participants, the community(ies) that require a solution. Describe when the pilot is done and how to measure the success of it, in a SMART way.

<Enter here>In this activity we gather requirements for HSM usage in GEANT services and the broader R&E community. We investigate the usability of the Cryptech devices technically and functionally. We discuss our findings with the community and the Cryptech project team.
We set up a testbed so service owners may test specific requirements against the devices. The testing itself is likely being done in a followup activity.


Panel
titleBackground information

https://cryptech.is/

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Panel
titleTechnical details

Top-down scheme of interests/work areas:

  • Service needs and adoption path - Identifying (client) service-specific requirements, scenarios and usage patterns, in terms of use of the HSM platform and its supporting cryptoservice. Could extend towards actual implementation by some services
  • Interoperability - Access methods and interfaces to be used by the client services with mapping/path towards the fulfilment of service requirements; this layer allows or at least facilitates substitution of underlying solutions (if/when needed) thorough some form of hardware and cryptographic algorithms abstraction, which, depending on service needs, may include consistent methods of remote access, front-end GUIs or applications, or wrapper APIs. Probably the most likely way to achieve some level of interoperability is to stick to an API such as PKCS#11, while the the additional features and human-handled procedures would be handled in a custom and application specific manner. Another possibility for service related software implementations that have a coarse internal crypto API of their own is to produce a mapping layer that would adapt to one of (finer-grained) APIs provided by the HSM platform.
  • HSM platform and its working environment:
    • Technical features - Performance levels and direct interfaces offered by the platform, including implementations of widely used specs and standards and platform-specific operational functions for import/export of cryptographic materials, access to logs, health check, disaster recovery, clear/reset, etc. A detailed list of technical criteria for evaluation (depending on the use cases and requirements) could include:
      • Performance for key generation and signing, and for asymmetric and symmetric cryptography algorithms;
      • Support for key cryptographic algorithms - e.g. RSA, DSA, ECC, 3DES, AES, SHA-1, MD5, etc.;
      • Programmability of the device (ability to execute code within the secure boundary);
      • Key storage capacity;
      • Form factor and connectivity - PCI, USB, Ethernet, etc.;
      • Audit and management capabilities;
      • Operating system and application support;
      • Remote access mechanisms;
      • Provided/supported user and admin tools;
      • Crypto API support - PKCS#11, MSCAPI, KMIP, JCA, etc,;
      • Supported/used cryptomaterial formats;

    • Operational aspects - Procedures, their practicality and suitability for the environment where the platform is deployed, physical/electromagnetic security arrangements. A detailed list of operational criteria for evaluation (depending on the use cases and requirements) could include:
      • Redundancy capability - suitability of procedures in the event of device failure;
      • Physical and logical security mechanisms;
      • Authentication mechanisms for access and/or defining the 'master secret';
      • Certifications - FIPS 140-2 (Level), Common Criteria;
      • Suitability of vendor documentation;
      • Vendor support and maintenance policy - bug fixing, patches, etc.;
      • Vendor credibility - business model, stability, etc.
      • Cost of ownership.

  • Trustworthiness of the HSM platform - How one can attest that the offered platform is secure; system integrity and hardware tamper resistance; preliminary audit/analysis/observations, supporting evidence, what is required or good to have/know, are there some recognised/possible weaknesses, open issues.


Panel
titleBusiness case

What is the business case for this Incubator project? Who would be customers of this solution and what would potential business case look like?

<Enter here>In many of the T&I services in the R&E sector, the services from GEANT included, we need to securely store sensitive data like key material. Currently it is very rarely done using HSMs, even though it is well understood such a solution is significantly more secure. Access to and cost of HSM technology is typically cited as the barriers for adoption of HSMs.
The Cryptech project offers a relatively low cost HSM solution, with seemingly similar characteristics as compared to generally available commercial offerings.


Panel
titleData protection & Privacy

How do data protection and privacy impact this Incubator project? Think about e.g. handling of personal data of users

<Enter here>This activity does not deal with personal data directly. However use of HSM technologies may in various use case improve the security of the encryption used to store and process personal data.


Panel
titleDefinition of Done (DoD)

The activity is successfully finished when:

  • A report on the requirements is delivered
  • A testbed is made available

Please describe here the set of criteria that the product must meet in order to be considered finished.

<Enter here>


Panel
titleSustainability

When this Incubator project is completed, do you intend to continue using the solution? If yes, can you describe how you intent to sustain it? (E.g. through own staff, by using an e-Infrastructure provider, ...)

<Enter here>The HSM devices may be use in followup Incubator activities.

Activity Results

Panel
titleResults
Please provide pointers to completed and intermediary results of this activity

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