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Networks have evolved to carry information with varying degrees of sensitivity, and they need to be protected on several levels. On the technical level, purely software-based solutions are not enough. Trusted hardware components are equally essential.
by Andreas Curiger
Many of today’s business processes are digital and run over the Internet. Networks have become repositories of digital information, making them attractive targets for hackers. They must therefore be constantly monitored to prevent unauthorized access to this information. Information security concepts comprise protective measures on four different levels:
Only technical measures are addressed here.
Cryptographic keys are a core component of efficient information security. Identification and authentication keys are typically based on public key cryptography, a system in which the initiator holds a private key, while the responder holds a corresponding public key. These keys are created and managed using a software service called public key infrastructure (PKI).
Software alone cannot generate genuinely random keys because it works according to deterministic principles. In addition, it cannot shield against physical attacks, and its complexity means that it always contains errors that hackers can exploit. For example, the software can be infiltrated with malicious code that reads the keys stored in it and sends them to the hackers.
Three measures are required to significantly enhance information security:
Various types of hardware may be suitable for securing data, depending on requirements:
To sum up, hardware is the key to reliable network security, and a secure, tested hardware security module is indispensable for high-end protection.
This article was published on August 25 in the edition 4/2017 of the german journal gi - Geldinstitute - Fachzeitschrift für IT-Entscheider und Manager, page 44. it is based on a keynote of Andreas Curiger on the SIGS-Technologyconference 2017 from May 16 to 18, 2017.