Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA) White Paper

Glossary of CDSA Terms and Acronyms

Decryption is the conversion of encrypted data into its original, comprehensible form.

data integrity

The assurance that information has not been altered since it was originally generated.

key

A piece of data that is used with an algorithm to encrypt and decrypt information.

key wrapping/unwrapping

Encryption/decryption of a key. The key can be a symmetric key or private key of a public/private key pair.

key-pair generation

The creation of two keys, one public, one private, for signing and verifying digital signatures.

manifest

A thorough description of an add-in module. A manifest’s specification must be written in terms defined by the CSSM_MODULE_INFO structure.

message digest

The results of a hash operation on an arbitrary series of bits.

pass-through functionality

The paradigm by which a CDSA add-in shared library provides extra functionality beyond what is specified by the CDSA API.

protocols, higher-level security

PKCS, SSL, S/MIME, IPSec, and SET are among the higher-level security protocols that provide the basis for secure Internet interoperability.

public-key cryptography

Cryptography based on techniques that use public and private keys. A public key is made available to all and is typically used for encryption or for verifying signatures. By contrast, a private key is kept secret and is used to generate digital signatures or for decryption operations.

public/private key pair

See key-pair generation.

Chapter 1

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