Which concept involves placing a backup cryptographic key with a trusted third party?

Which concept involves placing a backup cryptographic key with a trusted third party?

• A. Data In Transit
• B. Escrow
• C. Hardware Security Module (HSM)
• D. Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

Answer: (B)

Key escrow is the practice of placing a backup copy of a cryptographic key with a trusted third party so data can be recovered if the original key is lost or access is otherwise blocked. This arrangement supports data availability in scenarios like employee turnover, key loss, or disaster recovery, especially in organizations that must guarantee access to encrypted data or comply with certain regulations. The trade-off is increased trust and risk in the escrow agent; controls such as strict access policies, audits, and sometimes splitting the key into parts (threshold cryptography) help manage that risk. Data in transit refers to protecting data as it moves across networks, typically with TLS/SSL, and isn’t about backing up keys with a third party. An HSM is a hardware device that securely stores and uses keys locally to perform cryptographic operations, not a trusted external agent. A TPM is a secure element on a device that stores keys tied to that hardware for attestation and protection, not an external escrow arrangement.

Key escrow is the practice of placing a backup copy of a cryptographic key with a trusted third party so data can be recovered if the original key is lost or access is otherwise blocked. This arrangement supports data availability in scenarios like employee turnover, key loss, or disaster recovery, especially in organizations that must guarantee access to encrypted data or comply with certain regulations. The trade-off is increased trust and risk in the escrow agent; controls such as strict access policies, audits, and sometimes splitting the key into parts (threshold cryptography) help manage that risk.

Data in transit refers to protecting data as it moves across networks, typically with TLS/SSL, and isn’t about backing up keys with a third party. An HSM is a hardware device that securely stores and uses keys locally to perform cryptographic operations, not a trusted external agent. A TPM is a secure element on a device that stores keys tied to that hardware for attestation and protection, not an external escrow arrangement.