Patent ID: 6335972
Filing Date: 2002-01-01
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method of providing cryptographic services and key recovery services, comprising the steps of:providing a secure key management framework including set of key recovery application program interfaces for use by an application layer code and a set of key recovery service provider interfaces to support plug-in key recovery service provider modules; using the key recovery application program interfaces to set state and attribute information for use by the key recovery service provider modules and to generate key recovery blocks for confidentiality protected sessions; issuing, from an application program in a computer, a request for cryptographic services; processing said request for cryptographic services in a cryptographic module manager of the secure key management framework in said computer; forwarding said processed request for cryptographic services from said cryptographic module manager to a cryptographic service provider program coupled to said computer; issuing, from said application program in the computer, a request for key recovery services; processing said request for key recovery services in a key recovery module manager of said secure key management framework in said computer; and forwarding said processed request for key recovery services from said key recovery module manager to a key recovery service provider program coupled to said computer.