Plaintext
What is Plaintext?
Unencrypted data or information that has not been transformed by a cryptographic algorithm. Plaintext is readable by anyone who has access to it and must be protected through encryption when confidentiality is required.
Frameworks that govern plaintext
What the standards actually require on plaintext
Requirements naming plaintext across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.
A public key's authenticity and integrity are ensured by encrypting it per Annex C or, if in plaintext, by holding it in an Annex A certificate, in a PKCS#10 request with authentication by other means, inside an SCD, or with an ISO 16609 MAC.
pci-pin-security::15-2 · PCI PIN 15-2 →CSPs are protected inside the module against disclosure, modification and substitution and PSPs against modification and substitution; CSPs encrypted with non-approved functions count as plaintext; all SSPs are documented.
etsi-industry-specification-group-isg-on-quantum-key-distribution-qkd::008.4.9 · 008.4.9 SSP protection, random bit generation, generation and establishment →A public key's authenticity and integrity are ensured by encrypting it per Annex C or, if in plaintext, by holding it in an Annex A certificate, in a PKCS#10 request with authentication by other means, inside an SCD, or with an ISO 16609 MAC.
pci-p2pe::15-2 · PCI P2PE 15-2 →#12 plus: shared-secret files do not contain plaintext passwords or secrets; an alternative protection method may be used.
iso-iec-29115-2013-entity-authentication-assurance-framework::10.2.C13 · Credential management control #13: CredentialSecureStorage (LoA2) →Provide secrets to containers at runtime through a managed secrets system rather than environment variables or mounted files in plaintext. Rotate secrets on schedule and revoke them when a workload is decommissioned.
SP800-190-3.20 · Secrets Management at Runtime →In line with the Dutch, French, German, Swedish, US and UK security agencies, the organisation gives the move to post-quantum cryptography priority over quantum key distribution and, for now, does not rely on the security of QKD solutions: QKD only distributes...
netherlands-pqc-migration-handbook-aivd-cwi-tno-2nd-edition-2024::QKD · Give priority to PQC and do not rely on quantum key distribution →Questions people ask about plaintext
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