PKCS (Public Key Criptography Standards)

Question 1

PKCS#1

Answer 1

RSA Cryptography Standard

Question 2

PKCS#3

Answer 2

Diffie–Hellman Key Agreement Standard

Question 3

PKCS#5

Answer 3

Password-based Encryption Standard

Question 4

PKCS#6

Answer 4

Extended-Certificate Syntax Standard

Defines extensions to the old v1 X.509 certificate specification. Obsoleted by v3 of the same.

Question 5

PKCS#7

Answer 5

Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard

Used to sign and/or encrypt messages under a PKI. Used also for certificate dissemination (for instance as a response to a PKCS #10 message).

Often used for single sign-on.

Question 6

PKCS#8

Answer 6

Private-Key Information Syntax Standard

Used to carry private certificate keypairs (encrypted or unencrypted).

Question 7

PKCS#9

Answer 7

Selected Attribute Types

Question 8

PKCS#10

Answer 8

Certification Request Standard

Format of messages sent to a certification authority to request certification of a public key.

Question 9

PKCS#11

Answer 9

Cryptographic Token Interface (AKA “Cryptoki”)

An API defining a generic interface to cryptographic tokens (see also hardware security module). Often used in single sign-on, public-key cryptography and disk encryption systems.

Question 10

PKCS#12

Answer 10

Personal Information Exchange Syntax Standard

Defines a file format commonly used to store private keys with accompanying public key certificates, protected with a password-based symmetric key.

Question 11

PKCS#15

Answer 11

Cryptographic Token Information Format Standard

Defines a standard allowing users of cryptographic tokens to identify themselves to applications, independent of the application’s Cryptoki implementation (PKCS #11) or other API.