Hardware Security Modules are devices designed to protect cryptographic key material and accelerate certain operations.
Hardware Security Modules are computer devices that provide a protected environment in which cryptographic keys can be generated, used and (in some cases) stored. Without using an HSM, cryptographic keys are exposed in RAM during their generation and use.
Some HSMs also contain special-purpose chips that offer acceleration for particular cryptographic operations, such as RSA signature generation or elliptic curve operations.
