PKCS12
Encyclopedia
In cryptography
, PKCS #12 is one of the family of standards called Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS)
, published by RSA Laboratories. It defines a file format commonly used to store X.509
private keys with accompanying public key certificate
s, protected with a password-based symmetric key, and is the successor to PFX from Microsoft
. PFX has received heavy criticism of being one of the most complex cryptographic protocols , but nevertheless remains the only standard way today to store private keys and certificates in a single encrypted file.
File extension: .p12
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, PKCS #12 is one of the family of standards called Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS)
PKCS
In cryptography, PKCS refers to a group of public-key cryptography standards devised and published by RSA Security.RSA Data Security Inc was assigned the licensing rights for the patent on the RSA asymmetric key algorithm and acquired the licensing rights to several other key patents as well...
, published by RSA Laboratories. It defines a file format commonly used to store X.509
X.509
In cryptography, X.509 is an ITU-T standard for a public key infrastructure and Privilege Management Infrastructure . X.509 specifies, amongst other things, standard formats for public key certificates, certificate revocation lists, attribute certificates, and a certification path validation...
private keys with accompanying public key certificate
Public key certificate
In cryptography, a public key certificate is an electronic document which uses a digital signature to bind a public key with an identity — information such as the name of a person or an organization, their address, and so forth...
s, protected with a password-based symmetric key, and is the successor to PFX from Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. PFX has received heavy criticism of being one of the most complex cryptographic protocols , but nevertheless remains the only standard way today to store private keys and certificates in a single encrypted file.
File extension: .p12
External links
- PKCS #12: Personal Information Exchange Syntax Standard, RSA Laboratories
- PFX - How Not to Design a Crypto Protocol/Standard, Peter GutmannPeter Gutmann (computer scientist)Peter Gutmann is a computer scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. He has a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Auckland. His Ph.D. thesis and a book based on the thesis were about a cryptographic security architecture...