Dr. Sarbari Gupta, President of Electrosoft, spoke at the recent Cryptographic Key Management Workshop held at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD, June 8-9, 2009.

Dr. Gupta's talk was entitled " Cross-Agency Authentication Using PIV Symmetric Keys." The presentation discussed the use of the symmetric Card Authentication Key (CAK) within a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card to promote authentication of PIV Card holders across the federal government.

Cryptographic Key Management (CKM) is a fundamental part of cryptographic technology and is considered one of the most difficult aspects associated with its use. NIST has undertaken an effort to improve the overall key management strategies used by the public and private sectors in order to enhance the usability of cryptographic technology, provide scalability across cryptographic technologies, and support a global cryptographic key management infrastructure.

A CKM Workshop was held at NIST on June 8-9, 2009. The goal of the workshop was to identify: 1) various obstacles in using the key management methodologies currently in use; 2) alternative technologies that need to be accommodated; 3) alternative strategies useful in achieving the stated goal; and, 4) approaches for transitioning from the current methodologies to the most desirable method. Approximately 100 people participated in the Workshop at NIST on-site and approximately 90 people participated via a Webcast service. The program consisted of five keynote speakers addressing various aspects of future electronic communications, computing, and cryptography. Another twenty-five speakers addressed various technical aspects of current and future key management systems including key management policies, algorithms, distribution methods, and user control software interfaces.