2

can we utilise a general purpose HSM for EMV related work ? like ARQC/ARPC ? PCI guidelines do not specifically prohibit general purpose HSM from being used. There are certain constraints (e.g. disallow trnslation of ISO Type 0 to Type 1), etc.

But im generally curious - has anyone passed certification of a EMV switch using a general purpose HSM ?

Here's why I think it is possible: ISO 9564 and TR-31 standards mandate that a few common things like

b) It must prevent the determination of key length for variable length keys. c) It must ensure that the key can only be used for a specific algorithm (such as TDES or AES, but not both). d) It must ensure a modified key or key block can be rejected prior to use, regardless of the utility of the key after modification. Modification includes changing any bits of the key, as well as the reordering or manipulation of individual single DES keys within a TDES key block

In forthcoming TR-31 regulations, I see that AWS KMS is compliant at the "at-rest integrity checks" using stuff like EncryptionContext and Policy Constraints

so im generally wondering what prevents us from using KMS for this purpose ?

Sandeep
  • 1,745
  • 3
  • 20
  • 30
  • KMS is PCI certified: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/kms-compliance.html. That should mean there's no reason you can't use it, provided you configure/use it correctly. But I can't answer the actual question, since I've only worked with Payshield and its predecessors. – Bobson Jul 06 '22 at 13:08
  • @Bobson hey thanks for answering. Would you be able to speculate ? would love to get your opinion on this. is there any functionality that needs it to be built into the HSM versus using primitives and calling it from application code ? – Sandeep Jul 06 '22 at 13:59
  • There are different PCI standards. Being certified against one, does not mean solutions is off the hook for rest of the requirements. PCI DSS compliance of KMS is not a PCI HSM certificate that will be required for certain operations. PCI guidelines do not prohibit use of general purpose HSMs as a whole (you can still use them or no HSM at all) for certain operations, but do require FIPS 140 >=Level 3 or PCI HSM certification when certain operations are involved. The answer to this question (which does not belong to SO, btw) is YES. If you wish to deal with PIN General Purpose won't be enough – Michal Gluchowski Jul 07 '22 at 07:31
  • @MichalGluchowski so reading of the PCI-DSS standards for EMV does NOT make the use of a payments grade PCI-HSM certificate mandatory. I have read both the PIN generation standards, etc alongside it. The upcoming TR-31 standard (which i referred to above) also does not make certified HSM mandatory. It asks for certain translations to be blocked, which in my read says a general purpose HSM is viable. You are correctly referring the PCI-HSM certification itself...which i was not referring to. apologies if it came across as that. – Sandeep Jul 07 '22 at 17:54
  • @Sandeep The question is - are you going to process online PIN? If so, you will be implied by PCI PIN to handle that in a payment HSM and GP will not be enough. Second - you don't mention what kind of EMV-related operations are you going to perform. Are you planning to implement cryptogram verification (issuer side) or just pass it through (PSP/acquirer side)? TR-31 as a standard doesn't change anything as it just refers the ways it is transported and how usage constraints may be enforced (this is the part that is the most relevant in case of PCI standards) – Michal Gluchowski Jul 08 '22 at 00:04
  • Utimaco PaymentServer-Hybrid (disclosure, yes I work for Utimaco) is PCI-HSM v3 certified, and also provides a GP HSM front end (using PKCS11). PCI-HSM v3 and FIPS 140-2 are incompatible. v2 allowed "or FIPS 140-2 Level 3 or higher" but the PCI-HSM migrated away from the FIPS-allowed so if you want PCI-HSM v3 or later, FIPS isn't suitable. And (last I looked) FIPS and PCI-HSM are incompatible from the FIPS side -- if it is running with PCI-HSM cert, you can't also get FIPS cert on the firmware. Some of the PCI-HSM requirements are in theory specifically disallowed in FIPS. – rip... Jul 22 '22 at 00:08

0 Answers0