Title: Guidelines for Cryptographic Key Management
Author(s): S. Bellovin, R. Housley
Status: Best Current Practice
Date: June 2005
Pages: 7
URL: ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc4107.txt
The question often arises of whether a given security system requires some form of automated key management, or whether manual keying is sufficient. This memo provides guidelines for making such decisions. When symmetric cryptographic mechanisms are used in a protocol, the presumption is that automated key management is generally but not always needed. If manual keying is proposed, the burden of proving that automated key management is not required falls to the proposer.
This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
