Hardware Security Module

A specialized cryptographic processor called a hardware security module (HSM) controls and protects digital keys. Hardware security modules carry out encryption and decryption operations for strong authentication, digital signatures, and other cryptographic operations. These operations are specially designed to safeguard the crypto key lifetime.

In order to build secure settings for storing cryptographic keys, HSMs act as trust anchors. A hardware security module typically comes in the form of an external device or plug-in card that is directly connected to a network server or computer. It typically contains one or more secure cryptoprocessor chips.