Writing Information Security Policies

Key Generation Considerations

One of the most important aspects of dealing with encryption is the key. In encryption, the key is the variable applied to the algorithm used to encrypt the data. The key is usually a secret value or has a secret component. It is important to ensure that the key remains a secret.

It can be difficult to write key generation policies without considering the encryption environment and the software used in generating the keys. Policies can specify certain rules that should be followed, leaving it up to the administrators to create the appropriate process. Rules that can be used include the following:

• The allowable format for generated keys: binary or plaintext.

• How the keys can be stored. This can include online ...