| (cryptography, standard) | Public-Key Cryptography Standards - (PKCS) A set of standards for
public-key cryptography, developed by RSA Data Security, Inc. in cooperation with an informal consortium, originally
including Apple, Microsoft, DEC, Lotus, Sun and
MIT. The PKCS have been cited by the OSI Implementers' Workshop (OIW) as a method for implementation of OSI
standards. PKCS includes both algorithm-specific and algorithm-independent implementation standards. Many algorithms are supported, including RSA and Diffie-Hellman key exchange, however, only the latter two are specifically detailed. PKCS also defines an algorithm-independent syntax for digital signatures, digital envelopes, and extended digital certificates; this enables someone implementing any cryptographic algorithm whatsoever to conform to a standard syntax, and thus achieve interoperability. E-mail: pkcs@rsa.com. |