Chapitre 5. Configuring applications to use cryptographic hardware through PKCS #11
Separating parts of your secret information about dedicated cryptographic devices, such as smart cards and cryptographic tokens for end-user authentication and hardware security modules (HSM) for server applications, provides an additional layer of security. In RHEL, support for cryptographic hardware through the PKCS #11 API is consistent across different applications, and the isolation of secrets on cryptographic hardware is not a complicated task.
5.1. Cryptographic hardware support through PKCS #11
PKCS #11 (Public-Key Cryptography Standard) defines an application programming interface (API) to cryptographic devices that hold cryptographic information and perform cryptographic functions. These devices are called tokens, and they can be implemented in a hardware or software form.
A PKCS #11 token can store various object types including a certificate; a data object; and a public, private, or secret key. These objects are uniquely identifiable through the PKCS #11 URI scheme.
A PKCS #11 URI is a standard way to identify a specific object in a PKCS #11 module according to the object attributes. This enables you to configure all libraries and applications with the same configuration string in the form of a URI.
RHEL provides the OpenSC PKCS #11 driver for smart cards by default. However, hardware tokens and HSMs can have their own PKCS #11 modules that do not have their counterpart in the system. You can register such PKCS #11 modules with the p11-kit tool, which acts as a wrapper over the registered smart-card drivers in the system.
To make your own PKCS #11 module work on the system, add a new text file to the /etc/pkcs11/modules/ directory
You can add your own PKCS #11 module into the system by creating a new text file in the /etc/pkcs11/modules/ directory. For example, the OpenSC configuration file in p11-kit looks as follows:
$ cat /usr/share/p11-kit/modules/opensc.module
module: opensc-pkcs11.soRessources supplémentaires
