ECC Component

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The ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) component implements ECDSA, EdDSA, ECDH, and ECIES operations.

Syntax

nsoftware.IPWorksEncrypt.ECC

Remarks

The ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) component implements ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm), EdDSA (Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm), ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman), and ECIES (Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme) operations. The component supports the following common operations:

  • CreateKey allows key creation using algorithms such as secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1, X25519, X448, Ed25519, Ed448, and more.
  • ComputeSecret computes a shared secret between two parties using a public and private key (ECDH).
  • Sign and VerifySignature provides a way to digitally sign data and verify signatures (ECDSA and EdDSA).
  • Encrypt and Decrypt encrypt and decrypt data using a public and private key (ECIES).

The component is very flexible and offers many properties and configuration settings to configure it. The sections below detail the use of the component for each of the major operations listed above.

Key Creation and Management

CreateKey creates a new public and private key.

When this method is called, Key is populated with the generated key. The PublicKey and PrivateKey fields hold the PEM formatted public and private key for ease of use. This is helpful for storing or transporting keys more easily.

The KeyAlgorithm parameter specifies the algorithm for which the key is intended to be used. Possible values are:

KeyAlgorithmSupported Operations
secp256r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp384r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp521r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
X25519ECDH (ComputeSecret)
X448ECDH (ComputeSecret)
Ed25519EdDSA (Sign and VerifySignature)
Ed448EdDSA (Sign and VerifySignature)
secp160k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp192k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp224k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp256k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP160r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP192r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP224r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP256r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP320r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP384r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP512r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP160t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP192t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP224t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP256t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP320t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP384t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP512t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)

NIST, Koblitz, and Brainpool Curve Notes

Keys for use with NIST curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1), Koblitz curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1), and Brainpool curves are made up of a number of individual parameters.

The public key consists of the following parameters:

The private key consists of one value:

Curve25519 and Curve448 Notes

Keys for use with Curve25519 or Curve448 are made up of a private key and public key field.

XPk holds the public key.

XSk holds the private key.

Create Key Example (secp256r1 - PEM)

//Create a key using secp256r1 Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("secp256r1"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1" string privKey = ecc.Key.PrivateKey; //PEM formatted key string pubKey = ecc.Key.PublicKey; //PEM formatted key //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.PublicKey = pubKey; ecc.Key.PrivateKey = privKey; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1"

Create Key Example (secp256r1 - Raw Key Params)

//Create a key using secp256r1 and store/load the key using the individual params Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("secp256r1"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1" byte[] K = ecc.Key.KB; //Private key param byte[] Rx = ecc.Key.RxB; //Public key param byte[] Ry = ecc.Key.RyB; //Public key param //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.Algorithm = ECAlgorithms.eaSecp256r1; //This MUST be set manually when using key params directly ecc.Key.KB = K; ecc.Key.RxB = Rx; ecc.Key.RyB = Ry; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1"

Create Key Example (Ed25519 - PEM)

//Create a key using Ed25519 Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("Ed25519"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519" string privKey = ecc.Key.PrivateKey; //PEM formatted key string pubKey = ecc.Key.PublicKey; //PEM formatted key //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.PublicKey = pubKey; ecc.Key.PrivateKey = privKey; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519"

Create Key Example (Ed25519 - Raw Key Params)

//Create a key using Ed25519 and store/load the key using the individual params Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("Ed25519"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519" byte[] XPk = ecc.Key.XPkB; //Public key data byte[] XSk = ecc.Key.XSkB; //Secret key data //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.Algorithm = ECAlgorithms.eaEd25519; //This MUST be set manually when using key params directly ecc.Key.XPkB = XPk; ecc.Key.XSkB = XSk; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519"

Compute Secret (ECDH)

This method computes a shared secret using Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH).

When this method is called, the component will use the public key specified by RecipientKey (or RecipientCert) and the private key specified by Key to compute a shared secret, or secret agreement. The ComputeSecretKDF property specifies the Hash or HMAC algorithm that is applied to the raw secret. The resulting value is held by SharedSecret. The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

See ComputeSecretKDF for details on advanced settings that may be applicable for the chosen algorithm.

Keys created with the Ed25519 and Ed448 algorithms are not supported when calling this method.

Compute Secret Example

//Create a key for Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("X25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Create a key for Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("X25519"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Note: the public keys must be exchanged between parties by some mechanism //Create the shared secret on Party 1 ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; //Private key of this party ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; //Public key of other party ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encodes the shared secret bytes for easier display/storage ecc1.ComputeSecret(); Console.WriteLine(ecc1.SharedSecret); //Create the shared secret on Party 2 ecc2.Reset(); ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; //Private key of this party ecc2.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; //Public key of other party ecc2.UseHex = true; //Hex encodes the shared secret bytes for easier display/storage ecc2.ComputeSecret(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.SharedSecret); //This will match the shared secret created by ecc1.

Signing (ECDSA and EdDSA)

Sign will create a hash signature using ECDSA or EdDSA. The component will use the key specified by Key to hash the input data and sign the resulting hash.

Key must contain a private key created with a valid ECDSA or EdDSA algorithm. Algorithm is used to determine the eligibility of the key for this operation. Supported algorithms for signing are:

  • NIST Curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1)
  • Koblitz Curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1)
  • Brainpool Curves
  • Ed25519 and Ed448

See CreateKey for details about key creation and algorithms.

When this method is called, data will be read from the stream set by SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage.

The hash to be signed will be computed using the specified HashAlgorithm. The computed hash is stored in the HashValue property. The signed hash is stored in the HashSignature property.

To sign a hash without first computing it, set HashValue to a previously computed hash for the input data. Note: HashValue is not applicable when signing with a PureEdDSA algorithm such as Ed25519 or Ed448.

The Progress event will fire with updates for the hash computation progress only. The hash signature creation process is quick and does not require progress updates.

After calling Sign, the public key must be sent to the recipient along with HashSignature and the original input data so the other party may perform signature verification.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

The following properties are populated after calling this method:

When the Algorithm is Ed25519 or Ed448, the following additional parameters are applicable:

EdDSA keys can be used with a PureEdDSA algorithm (Ed25519/Ed448) or a HashEdDSA (Ed25519ph, Ed448ph) algorithm. This is controlled by the HashEdDSA property. By default, the component uses the PureEdDSA algorithm.

The PureEdDSA algorithm requires two passes over the input data but provides collision resilience. The collision resilience of PureEdDSA means that even if it is feasible to compute collisions for the hash function, the algorithm is still secure. When using PureEdDSA, HashValue is not applicable.

When using a HashEdDSA algorithm, the input is pre-hashed and supports a single pass over the data during the signing operation. To enable HashEdDSA, set HashEdDSA to True.

To specify context data when using Ed25519 or Ed448, set EdDSAContext.

Sign And Verify Example (ECDSA)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - PureEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - HashEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.HashEdDSA = true; //Use "ed25519ph" ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.HashEdDSA = true; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Verifying (ECDSA and EdDSA)

VerifySignature will verify a hash signature and return True if successful or False otherwise.

Before calling this method, specify the input file by setting SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage.

A public key and the hash signature are required to perform the signature verification. Specify the public key in SignerKey. Specify the hash signature in HashSignature.

When this method is called, the component will compute the hash for the specified file and populate HashValue. It will verify the signature using the specified SignerKey and HashSignature.

To verify the hash signature without first computing the hash, simply specify HashValue before calling this method. Note: HashValue is not applicable when the message was signed with a PureEdDSA algorithm such as Ed25519 or Ed448.

The Progress event will fire with updates for the hash computation progress only. The hash signature verification process is quick and does not require progress updates.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

Sign And Verify Example (ECDSA)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - PureEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - HashEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.HashEdDSA = true; //Use "ed25519ph" ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.HashEdDSA = true; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Encrypting (ECIES)

Encrypt encrypts the specified data with the ECDSA public key specified in RecipientKey.

Encryption is performed using ECIES which requires an ECDSA key. RecipientKey must contain an ECDSA key. Algorithm is used to determine the eligibility of the key for this operation. Supported algorithms for encryption are:

  • NIST Curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1)
  • Koblitz Curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1)
  • Brainpool Curves

See CreateKey for details about key creation and algorithms.

When this method is called, the component will encrypt the specified data using ECIES and the encrypted data will be output. To hex encode the output, set UseHex to True.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

Encrypt and Decrypt Example

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (AES with IV)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); //Use an IV (16 bytes for AES) - In a real environment this should be random byte[] IV = new byte[] { 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0A, 0x0B, 0x0C, 0x0D, 0x0E, 0x0F }; ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc1.IVB = IV; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message and the IV to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 and the IV ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc2.IVB = IV; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (XOR Encryption Algorithm)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (KDF Options)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.KDF = "KDF1"; //Use KDF1 ecc1.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc1.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); //Hex encoded string ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.KDF = "KDF1"; ecc2.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc2.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Decrypting (ECIES)

Decrypt decrypts the specified data with the ECDSA private key specified in Key.

Decryption is performed using ECIES which requires an ECDSA key. Key must contain an ECDSA key. Algorithm is used to determine the eligibility of the key for this operation. Supported algorithms for encryption are:

  • NIST Curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1)
  • Koblitz Curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1)
  • Brainpool Curves

See CreateKey for details about key creation and algorithms.

When this method is called, the component will decrypt the specified data using ECIES and the decrypted data will be output. If the input data was originally hex encoded, set UseHex to True.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

Encrypt and Decrypt Example

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (AES with IV)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); //Use an IV (16 bytes for AES) - In a real environment this should be random byte[] IV = new byte[] { 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0A, 0x0B, 0x0C, 0x0D, 0x0E, 0x0F }; ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc1.IVB = IV; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message and the IV to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 and the IV ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc2.IVB = IV; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (XOR Encryption Algorithm)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (KDF Options)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.KDF = "KDF1"; //Use KDF1 ecc1.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc1.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); //Hex encoded string ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.KDF = "KDF1"; ecc2.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc2.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Property List


The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

CertificateThe certificate used for signing and decryption.
ComputeSecretKDFThe key derivation function.
EncryptionAlgorithmThe encryption algorithm to use.
HashAlgorithmThe hash algorithm used for hash computation.
HashEdDSAWhether to use HashEdDSA when signing with an Ed25519 or Ed448 key.
HashSignatureThe hash signature.
HashValueThe hash value of the data.
HMACAlgorithmThe HMAC algorithm to use during encryption.
InputFileThe file to process.
InputMessageThe message to process.
IVThe initialization vector (IV) used when encrypting.
KDFThe key derivation function used during encryption and decryption.
KDFHashAlgorithmThe KDF hash algorithm to use when encrypting and decrypting.
KeyThe ECC key.
OutputFileThe output file when encrypting or decrypting.
OutputMessageThe output message when encrypting or decrypting.
OverwriteIndicates whether or not the component should overwrite files.
RecipientCertThe certificate used for encryption and computing a shared secret.
RecipientKeyThe public key used to compute the shared secret.
SharedSecretThe computed shared secret.
SignerCertThe certificate used for signature verification.
SignerKeyThe public key used to verify the signature.
UseHexWhether binary values are hex encoded.

Method List


The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ComputeSecretComputes a shared secret.
ConfigSets or retrieves a configuration setting.
CreateKeyCreates a new key.
DecryptDecrypted the specified data.
EncryptEncrypts the specified data.
ResetResets the component.
SetInputStreamSets the stream from which the component will read data to encrypt or decrypt.
SetOutputStreamSets the stream to which the component will write encrypted or decrypted data.
SignCreates a hash signature using ECDSA or EdDSA.
VerifySignatureVerifies the signature for the specified data.

Event List


The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ErrorFired when information is available about errors during data delivery.
ProgressFired as progress is made.

Config Settings


The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AppendSecretAn optional string to append to the secret agreement.
CNGECDHKeyThe CNG ECDH key.
CNGECDSAKeyThe CNG ECDSA key.
ConcatAlgorithmIdThe AlgorithmId subfield of the OtherInfo field.
ConcatHashAlgorithmThe hash algorithm to use when ComputeSecretKDF is Concat.
ConcatPartyUInfoThe PartyUInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.
ConcatPartyVInfoThe PartyVInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.
ConcatSuppPrivInfoThe SuppPrivInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.
ConcatSuppPubInfoThe SuppPubInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.
ECDSASignatureFormatThe format of the HashSignature when using ECDSA keys.
EdDSAContextA hex encoded string holding the bytes of the context when signing or verifying with Ed25519ctx.
EncryptionKeySizeThe encryption key size.
HMACKeyA key to use when generating a Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC).
HMACKeySizeThe HMAC key size to be used during encryption.
HMACOptionalInfoOptional data to be used during encryption and decryption during the HMAC step.
KDFOptionalInfoOptional data to be used during encryption and decryption during the key derivation step.
PrependSecretAn optional string to prepend to the secret agreement.
StrictKeyValidationWhether to validate provided public keys based on private keys.
TLSLabelThe TLS PRF label.
TLSSeedThe TLS PRF Seed.
BuildInfoInformation about the product's build.
GUIAvailableWhether or not a message loop is available for processing events.
LicenseInfoInformation about the current license.
MaskSensitiveDataWhether sensitive data is masked in log messages.
UseFIPSCompliantAPITells the component whether or not to use FIPS certified APIs.
UseInternalSecurityAPIWhether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation.

Certificate Property (ECC Component)

The certificate used for signing and decryption.

Syntax

public Certificate Certificate { get; set; }
Public Property Certificate As Certificate

Remarks

This property specifies a certificate with a private key.

This may be set instead of Key, allowing a Certificate object to be used instead of a ECCKey object. This certificate is used when calling Sign and Decrypt. The specified certificate must have a private key.

If both this property and Key are specified, Key will be used and this property will be ignored.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

ComputeSecretKDF Property (ECC Component)

The key derivation function.

Syntax

public ECCComputeSecretKDFs ComputeSecretKDF { get; set; }

enum ECCComputeSecretKDFs { ekdSHA1, ekdSHA256, ekdSHA384, ekdSHA512, ekdMD2, ekdMD4, ekdMD5, ekdHMACSHA1, ekdHMACSHA256, ekdHMACSHA384, ekdHMACSHA512, ekdHMACMD5, ekdTLS, ekdConcat }
Public Property ComputeSecretKDF As EccComputeSecretKDFs

Enum ECCComputeSecretKDFs ekdSHA1 ekdSHA256 ekdSHA384 ekdSHA512 ekdMD2 ekdMD4 ekdMD5 ekdHMACSHA1 ekdHMACSHA256 ekdHMACSHA384 ekdHMACSHA512 ekdHMACMD5 ekdTLS ekdConcat End Enum

Default Value

1

Remarks

This property specifies the key derivation function (KDF) and algorithm to use when calling ComputeSecret.

Possible values are:

0 (ekdSHA1) SHA-1
1 (ekdSHA256 - default) SHA-256
2 (ekdSHA384) SHA-384
3 (ekdSHA512) SHA-512
4 (ekdMD2) MD2
5 (ekdMD4) MD4
6 (ekdMD5) MD5
7 (ekdHMACSHA1) HMAC-SHA1
8 (ekdHMACSHA256) HMAC-SHA256
9 (ekdHMACSHA384) HMAC-SHA384
10 (ekdHMACSHA512) HMAC-SHA512
11 (ekdHMACMD5) HMAC-MD5
12 (ekdTLS) TLS
13 (ekdConcat) Concat

HMAC Notes

If an HMAC algorithm is selected, HMACKey may optionally be set to specify the key.

TLS Notes

When set to TLS, TLSSeed and TLSLabel are required. In addition, PrependSecret and AppendSecret are not applicable.

Concat Notes

If Concat is selected, the following configuration settings are applicable:

EncryptionAlgorithm Property (ECC Component)

The encryption algorithm to use.

Syntax

public ECCEncryptionAlgorithms EncryptionAlgorithm { get; set; }

enum ECCEncryptionAlgorithms { iesAES, iesTripleDES, iesXOR }
Public Property EncryptionAlgorithm As EccEncryptionAlgorithms

Enum ECCEncryptionAlgorithms iesAES iesTripleDES iesXOR End Enum

Default Value

0

Remarks

This setting specifies the encryption algorithm to use when Encrypt is called. This must also be set before calling Decrypt to match the algorithm used during the initial encryption.

Possible values are:

  • 0 (iesAES - default)
  • 1 (iesTripleDES)
  • 2 (iesXOR)

AES Notes

When EncryptionAlgorithm is set to iesAES, AES CBC with a default key size of 256 bits is used. To specify a different key size, set EncryptionKeySize.

HashAlgorithm Property (ECC Component)

The hash algorithm used for hash computation.

Syntax

public ECCHashAlgorithms HashAlgorithm { get; set; }

enum ECCHashAlgorithms { ehaSHA1, ehaSHA224, ehaSHA256, ehaSHA384, ehaSHA512, ehaMD2, ehaMD4, ehaMD5, ehaMD5SHA1, ehaRIPEMD160 }
Public Property HashAlgorithm As EccHashAlgorithms

Enum ECCHashAlgorithms ehaSHA1 ehaSHA224 ehaSHA256 ehaSHA384 ehaSHA512 ehaMD2 ehaMD4 ehaMD5 ehaMD5SHA1 ehaRIPEMD160 End Enum

Default Value

2

Remarks

This property specifies the hash algorithm used for hash computation. This is only applicable when calling Sign or VerifySignature and Algorithm specifies a ECDSA key (NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve). Possible values are:

0 (ehaSHA1) SHA-1
1 (ehaSHA224) SHA-224
2 (ehaSHA256 - default) SHA-256
3 (ehaSHA384) SHA-384
4 (ehaSHA512) SHA-512
5 (ehaMD2) MD2
6 (ehaMD4) MD4
7 (ehaMD5) MD5
8 (ehaMD5SHA1) MD5SHA-1
9 (ehaRIPEMD160) RIPEMD-160

When Algorithm specifies an EdDSA key, this setting is not applicable as the hash algorithm is defined by the specification as SHA-512 for Ed25519 and SHAKE-256 for Ed448.

HashEdDSA Property (ECC Component)

Whether to use HashEdDSA when signing with an Ed25519 or Ed448 key.

Syntax

public bool HashEdDSA { get; set; }
Public Property HashEdDSA As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This setting specifies whether to use the HashEdDSA algorithm when signing and verifying with Ed25519 or Ed448 keys.

If set to True, the component will use the HashEdDSA algorithm (Ed25519ph or Ed448ph) when signing and verifying. When using a HashEdDSA algorithm, the input is pre-hashed and supports a single pass over the data during the signing operation.

If set to False (default), the component will use the PureEdDSA algorithm (Ed25519 or Ed448) when signing. The PureEdDSA requires two passes over the input data but provides collision resilience. The collision resilience of PureEdDSA means that even if it is feasible to compute collisions for the hash function, the algorithm is still secure.

This property is only applicable when calling Sign and Algorithm is set to Ed25519 or Ed448.

If this property is set before calling Sign, it must be set before calling VerifySignature.

HashSignature Property (ECC Component)

The hash signature.

Syntax

public string HashSignature { get; set; }
public byte[] HashSignatureB { get; set; }
Public Property HashSignature As String
Public Property HashSignatureB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property holds the computed hash signature. This is populated after calling Sign. This must be set before calling VerifySignature.

HashValue Property (ECC Component)

The hash value of the data.

Syntax

public string HashValue { get; set; }
public byte[] HashValueB { get; set; }
Public Property HashValue As String
Public Property HashValueB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property holds the computed hash value for the specified data. This is populated when calling Sign or VerifySignature when an input file is specified by setting SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage.

Pre-existing hash values may be set to this property before calling Sign or VerifySignature. If you know the hash value prior to using the component, you may specify the pre-computed hash value here.

This setting is not applicable to PureEdDSA algorithms. If Algorithm is Ed25519 or Ed448 and HashEdDSA is False (default), the PureEdDSA algorithm is used and HashValue is not applicable.

Hash Notes

The component will determine whether or not to recompute the hash based on the properties that are set. If a file is specified by SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage, the hash will be recomputed when calling Sign or VerifySignature. If the HashValue property is set, the component will only sign the hash or verify the hash signature. Setting SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage clears the HashValue property. Setting the HashValue property clears the input file selection.

HMACAlgorithm Property (ECC Component)

The HMAC algorithm to use during encryption.

Syntax

public ECCHMACAlgorithms HMACAlgorithm { get; set; }

enum ECCHMACAlgorithms { iesHMACSHA1, iesHMACSHA224, iesHMACSHA256, iesHMACSHA384, iesHMACSHA512, iesHMACRIPEMD160 }
Public Property HMACAlgorithm As EccHMACAlgorithms

Enum ECCHMACAlgorithms iesHMACSHA1 iesHMACSHA224 iesHMACSHA256 iesHMACSHA384 iesHMACSHA512 iesHMACRIPEMD160 End Enum

Default Value

2

Remarks

This property specifies the HMAC algorithm to use when encrypting. The HMAC algorithm is used when Encrypt and Decrypt are called to protect and verify data. Possible values are:

  • 0 (iesHMACSHA1)
  • 1 (iesHMACSHA224)
  • 2 (iesHMACSHA256 - Default)
  • 3 (iesHMACSHA384)
  • 4 (iesHMACSHA512)
  • 5 (iesHMACRIPEMD160)

This property is only applicable when calling Encrypt or Decrypt.

InputFile Property (ECC Component)

The file to process.

Syntax

public string InputFile { get; set; }
Public Property InputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the file to be processed. Set this property to the full or relative path to the file which will be processed.

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

InputMessage Property (ECC Component)

The message to process.

Syntax

public string InputMessage { get; set; }
public byte[] InputMessageB { get; set; }
Public Property InputMessage As String
Public Property InputMessageB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the message to be processed.

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

IV Property (ECC Component)

The initialization vector (IV) used when encrypting.

Syntax

public string IV { get; set; }
public byte[] IVB { get; set; }
Public Property IV As String
Public Property IVB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property optionally specifies an IV to be used when calling Encrypt or Decrypt. If specified, the IV is used by EncryptionAlgorithm during encryption.

If not specified, the component will create an IV filled with null bytes (zeros). Since the encryption key is only used once, the use of null bytes in the IV is considered acceptable and is a standard practice.

The length of the IV should be as follows:

EncryptionAlgorithmIV Length (in bytes)
AES16
3DES8

This setting is not applicable when EncryptionAlgorithm is set to XOR.

KDF Property (ECC Component)

The key derivation function used during encryption and decryption.

Syntax

public string KDF { get; set; }
Public Property KDF As String

Default Value

"KDF2"

Remarks

This property specifies the key derivation function (KDF) to use when encrypting and decrypting. Possible values are:

  • "KDF1"
  • "KDF2" (default)
The KDFHashAlgorithm specifies the hash algorithm used in conjunction with the specified KDF.

This property is only applicable when calling Encrypt or Decrypt.

KDFHashAlgorithm Property (ECC Component)

The KDF hash algorithm to use when encrypting and decrypting.

Syntax

public ECCKDFHashAlgorithms KDFHashAlgorithm { get; set; }

enum ECCKDFHashAlgorithms { iesSHA1, iesSHA224, iesSHA256, iesSHA384, iesSHA512 }
Public Property KDFHashAlgorithm As EccKDFHashAlgorithms

Enum ECCKDFHashAlgorithms iesSHA1 iesSHA224 iesSHA256 iesSHA384 iesSHA512 End Enum

Default Value

2

Remarks

This property specifies the hash algorithm to use when deriving a key using the specified KDF. Possible values are:

  • 0 (iesSHA1)
  • 1 (iesSHA224)
  • 2 (iesSHA256)
  • 3 (iesSHA384)
  • 4 (iesSHA512)

This property is only applicable when calling Encrypt or Decrypt.

Key Property (ECC Component)

The ECC key.

Syntax

public ECCKey Key { get; set; }
Public Property Key As ECCKey

Remarks

This property specifies the ECC private key. This property must be set before calling Sign or ComputeSecret.

NIST, Koblitz, and Brainpool Curve Notes

Keys for use with NIST curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1), Koblitz curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1), and Brainpool curves are made up of a number of individual parameters.

The public key consists of the following parameters:

The private key consists of one value:

Curve25519 and Curve448 Notes

Keys for use with Curve25519 or Curve448 are made up of a private key and public key field.

XPk holds the public key.

XSk holds the private key.

Please refer to the ECCKey type for a complete list of fields.

OutputFile Property (ECC Component)

The output file when encrypting or decrypting.

Syntax

public string OutputFile { get; set; }
Public Property OutputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the file to which the output will be written when Encrypt or Decrypt is called. This may be set to an absolute or relative path.

This property is only applicable to Encrypt and Decrypt.

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

OutputMessage Property (ECC Component)

The output message when encrypting or decrypting.

Syntax

public string OutputMessage { get; }
public byte[] OutputMessageB { get; }
Public ReadOnly Property OutputMessage As String
Public ReadOnly Property OutputMessageB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property will be populated with the output after calling Encrypt or Decrypt if OutputFile and SetOutputStream are not set.

This property is only applicable to Encrypt and Decrypt.

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Overwrite Property (ECC Component)

Indicates whether or not the component should overwrite files.

Syntax

public bool Overwrite { get; set; }
Public Property Overwrite As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property indicates whether or not the component will overwrite OutputFile. If Overwrite is False, an error will be thrown whenever OutputFile exists before an operation. The default value is False.

RecipientCert Property (ECC Component)

The certificate used for encryption and computing a shared secret.

Syntax

public Certificate RecipientCert { get; set; }
Public Property RecipientCert As Certificate

Remarks

This property specifies a certificate for encryption and computing a shared secret.

This may be set instead of RecipientKey, allowing a Certificate object to be used instead of a ECCKey object. This certificate is used when calling Encrypt and ComputeSecret.

If both this property and RecipientKey are specified, RecipientKey will be used and this property will be ignored.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

RecipientKey Property (ECC Component)

The public key used to compute the shared secret.

Syntax

public ECCKey RecipientKey { get; set; }
Public Property RecipientKey As ECCKey

Remarks

This property specifies the public key used to compute the shared secret. If RecipientCert is not specified, this must be set before calling ComputeSecret.

Please refer to the ECCKey type for a complete list of fields.

SharedSecret Property (ECC Component)

The computed shared secret.

Syntax

public string SharedSecret { get; }
public byte[] SharedSecretB { get; }
Public ReadOnly Property SharedSecret As String
Public ReadOnly Property SharedSecretB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property holds the shared secret computed by ComputeSecret.

This property is read-only.

SignerCert Property (ECC Component)

The certificate used for signature verification.

Syntax

public Certificate SignerCert { get; set; }
Public Property SignerCert As Certificate

Remarks

This property specifies a certificate for signature verification.

This may be set instead of SignerKey, allowing a Certificate object to be used instead of a ECCKey object. This certificate is used when calling VerifySignature.

If both this property and SignerKey are specified, SignerKey will be used and this property will be ignored.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

SignerKey Property (ECC Component)

The public key used to verify the signature.

Syntax

public ECCKey SignerKey { get; set; }
Public Property SignerKey As ECCKey

Remarks

This property specifies the public key used to verify the signature. This public key corresponds to the private key used when creating the signature. This must be set before calling VerifySignature.

Please refer to the ECCKey type for a complete list of fields.

UseHex Property (ECC Component)

Whether binary values are hex encoded.

Syntax

public bool UseHex { get; set; }
Public Property UseHex As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This setting specifies whether various calculated values are hex encoded. If set to False (default), all data is provided as-is with no encoding.

If set to True, certain properties are hex encoded when populated for ease of display, transport, and storage.

Compute Secret Notes

This property specifies whether SharedSecret is hex encoded when ComputeSecret is called.

Sign and Verify Notes

This property specifies whether HashValue and HashSignature are hex encoded.

If set to True, when Sign is called the component will compute the hash for the specified file and populate HashValue with the hex encoded hash value. It will then create the hash signature and populate HashSignature with the hex encoded hash signature value. If HashValue is specified directly, it must be a hex encoded value.

If set to True, when VerifySignature is called the component will compute the hash value for the specified file and populate HashValue with the hex encoded hash value. It will then hex decode HashSignature and verify the signature. HashSignature must hold a hex encoded value. If HashValue is specified directly, it must be a hex encoded value.

Encrypt and Decrypt Notes

If set to True, when Encrypt is called the component will perform the encryption as normal and then hex encode the output. OutputMessage or OutputFile will hold hex encoded data.

If set to True, when Decrypt is called the component will expect InputMessage or InputFile to hold hex encoded data. The component will then hex decode the data and perform decryption as normal.

ComputeSecret Method (ECC Component)

Computes a shared secret.

Syntax

public void ComputeSecret();

Async Version
public async Task ComputeSecret();
public async Task ComputeSecret(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub ComputeSecret()

Async Version
Public Sub ComputeSecret() As Task
Public Sub ComputeSecret(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method computes a shared secret using Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH).

When this method is called, the component will use the public key specified by RecipientKey (or RecipientCert) and the private key specified by Key to compute a shared secret, or secret agreement. The ComputeSecretKDF property specifies the Hash or HMAC algorithm that is applied to the raw secret. The resulting value is held by SharedSecret. The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

See ComputeSecretKDF for details on advanced settings that may be applicable for the chosen algorithm.

Keys created with the Ed25519 and Ed448 algorithms are not supported when calling this method.

Compute Secret Example

//Create a key for Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("X25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Create a key for Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("X25519"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Note: the public keys must be exchanged between parties by some mechanism //Create the shared secret on Party 1 ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; //Private key of this party ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; //Public key of other party ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encodes the shared secret bytes for easier display/storage ecc1.ComputeSecret(); Console.WriteLine(ecc1.SharedSecret); //Create the shared secret on Party 2 ecc2.Reset(); ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; //Private key of this party ecc2.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; //Public key of other party ecc2.UseHex = true; //Hex encodes the shared secret bytes for easier display/storage ecc2.ComputeSecret(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.SharedSecret); //This will match the shared secret created by ecc1.

Config Method (ECC Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

public string Config(string configurationString);

Async Version
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString);
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

CreateKey Method (ECC Component)

Creates a new key.

Syntax

public void CreateKey(string keyAlgorithm);

Async Version
public async Task CreateKey(string keyAlgorithm);
public async Task CreateKey(string keyAlgorithm, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub CreateKey(ByVal KeyAlgorithm As String)

Async Version
Public Sub CreateKey(ByVal KeyAlgorithm As String) As Task
Public Sub CreateKey(ByVal KeyAlgorithm As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

CreateKey creates a new public and private key.

When this method is called, Key is populated with the generated key. The PublicKey and PrivateKey fields hold the PEM formatted public and private key for ease of use. This is helpful for storing or transporting keys more easily.

The KeyAlgorithm parameter specifies the algorithm for which the key is intended to be used. Possible values are:

KeyAlgorithmSupported Operations
secp256r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp384r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp521r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
X25519ECDH (ComputeSecret)
X448ECDH (ComputeSecret)
Ed25519EdDSA (Sign and VerifySignature)
Ed448EdDSA (Sign and VerifySignature)
secp160k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp192k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp224k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp256k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP160r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP192r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP224r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP256r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP320r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP384r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP512r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP160t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP192t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP224t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP256t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP320t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP384t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP512t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)

NIST, Koblitz, and Brainpool Curve Notes

Keys for use with NIST curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1), Koblitz curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1), and Brainpool curves are made up of a number of individual parameters.

The public key consists of the following parameters:

The private key consists of one value:

Curve25519 and Curve448 Notes

Keys for use with Curve25519 or Curve448 are made up of a private key and public key field.

XPk holds the public key.

XSk holds the private key.

Create Key Example (secp256r1 - PEM)

//Create a key using secp256r1 Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("secp256r1"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1" string privKey = ecc.Key.PrivateKey; //PEM formatted key string pubKey = ecc.Key.PublicKey; //PEM formatted key //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.PublicKey = pubKey; ecc.Key.PrivateKey = privKey; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1"

Create Key Example (secp256r1 - Raw Key Params)

//Create a key using secp256r1 and store/load the key using the individual params Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("secp256r1"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1" byte[] K = ecc.Key.KB; //Private key param byte[] Rx = ecc.Key.RxB; //Public key param byte[] Ry = ecc.Key.RyB; //Public key param //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.Algorithm = ECAlgorithms.eaSecp256r1; //This MUST be set manually when using key params directly ecc.Key.KB = K; ecc.Key.RxB = Rx; ecc.Key.RyB = Ry; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaSecp256r1"

Create Key Example (Ed25519 - PEM)

//Create a key using Ed25519 Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("Ed25519"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519" string privKey = ecc.Key.PrivateKey; //PEM formatted key string pubKey = ecc.Key.PublicKey; //PEM formatted key //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.PublicKey = pubKey; ecc.Key.PrivateKey = privKey; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519"

Create Key Example (Ed25519 - Raw Key Params)

//Create a key using Ed25519 and store/load the key using the individual params Ecc ecc = new Ecc(); ecc.CreateKey("Ed25519"); Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519" byte[] XPk = ecc.Key.XPkB; //Public key data byte[] XSk = ecc.Key.XSkB; //Secret key data //Load the saved key ecc.Reset(); ecc.Key.Algorithm = ECAlgorithms.eaEd25519; //This MUST be set manually when using key params directly ecc.Key.XPkB = XPk; ecc.Key.XSkB = XSk; Console.WriteLine(ecc.Key.Algorithm); //outputs enum value "eaEd25519"

Decrypt Method (ECC Component)

Decrypted the specified data.

Syntax

public void Decrypt();

Async Version
public async Task Decrypt();
public async Task Decrypt(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub Decrypt()

Async Version
Public Sub Decrypt() As Task
Public Sub Decrypt(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Decrypt decrypts the specified data with the ECDSA private key specified in Key.

Decryption is performed using ECIES which requires an ECDSA key. Key must contain an ECDSA key. Algorithm is used to determine the eligibility of the key for this operation. Supported algorithms for encryption are:

  • NIST Curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1)
  • Koblitz Curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1)
  • Brainpool Curves

See CreateKey for details about key creation and algorithms.

When this method is called, the component will decrypt the specified data using ECIES and the decrypted data will be output. If the input data was originally hex encoded, set UseHex to True.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

Encrypt and Decrypt Example

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (AES with IV)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); //Use an IV (16 bytes for AES) - In a real environment this should be random byte[] IV = new byte[] { 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0A, 0x0B, 0x0C, 0x0D, 0x0E, 0x0F }; ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc1.IVB = IV; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message and the IV to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 and the IV ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc2.IVB = IV; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (XOR Encryption Algorithm)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (KDF Options)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.KDF = "KDF1"; //Use KDF1 ecc1.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc1.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); //Hex encoded string ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.KDF = "KDF1"; ecc2.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc2.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt Method (ECC Component)

Encrypts the specified data.

Syntax

public void Encrypt();

Async Version
public async Task Encrypt();
public async Task Encrypt(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub Encrypt()

Async Version
Public Sub Encrypt() As Task
Public Sub Encrypt(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Encrypt encrypts the specified data with the ECDSA public key specified in RecipientKey.

Encryption is performed using ECIES which requires an ECDSA key. RecipientKey must contain an ECDSA key. Algorithm is used to determine the eligibility of the key for this operation. Supported algorithms for encryption are:

  • NIST Curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1)
  • Koblitz Curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1)
  • Brainpool Curves

See CreateKey for details about key creation and algorithms.

When this method is called, the component will encrypt the specified data using ECIES and the encrypted data will be output. To hex encode the output, set UseHex to True.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

Encrypt and Decrypt Example

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (AES with IV)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); //Use an IV (16 bytes for AES) - In a real environment this should be random byte[] IV = new byte[] { 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0A, 0x0B, 0x0C, 0x0D, 0x0E, 0x0F }; ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc1.IVB = IV; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message and the IV to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 and the IV ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesAES; ecc2.IVB = IV; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (XOR Encryption Algorithm)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.EncryptionAlgorithm = EccEncryptionAlgorithms.iesXOR; ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Encrypt and Decrypt Example (KDF Options)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc2_priv = ecc2.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc2_pub = ecc2.Key.PublicKey; //Transmit public key to Party 1 //Encrypt the message on Party 1 using public key from Party 2 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.KDF = "KDF1"; //Use KDF1 ecc1.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc1.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); //Hex encoded string ecc1.InputMessage = "hello ecc"; ecc1.RecipientKey.PublicKey = ecc2_pub; ecc1.UseHex = true; ecc1.Encrypt(); string encryptedMessage = ecc1.OutputMessage; //Transmit the encrypted message to Party 2 //Decrypt the message using the private key for Party 2 ecc2.KDF = "KDF1"; ecc2.KDFHashAlgorithm = EccKDFHashAlgorithms.iesSHA1; ecc2.Config("KDFOptionalInfo=202122232425262728292a2b2c2d2e2f"); ecc2.Key.PrivateKey = ecc2_priv; ecc2.InputMessage = encryptedMessage; ecc2.UseHex = true; ecc2.Decrypt(); Console.WriteLine(ecc2.OutputMessage);

Reset Method (ECC Component)

Resets the component.

Syntax

public void Reset();

Async Version
public async Task Reset();
public async Task Reset(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub Reset()

Async Version
Public Sub Reset() As Task
Public Sub Reset(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

When called, the component will reset all of its properties to their default values.

SetInputStream Method (ECC Component)

Sets the stream from which the component will read data to encrypt or decrypt.

Syntax

public void SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream);
public async Task SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sets the stream from which the component will read data to encrypt or decrypt.

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

SetOutputStream Method (ECC Component)

Sets the stream to which the component will write encrypted or decrypted data.

Syntax

public void SetOutputStream(System.IO.Stream outputStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetOutputStream(System.IO.Stream outputStream);
public async Task SetOutputStream(System.IO.Stream outputStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub SetOutputStream(ByVal OutputStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetOutputStream(ByVal OutputStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetOutputStream(ByVal OutputStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sets the stream to which the component will write encrypted or decrypted data.

Input and Output Properties

The component will determine the source and destination of the input and output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

When a valid source is found, the search stops. The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

  • SetOutputStream
  • OutputFile
  • OutputMessage: The output data is written to this property if no other destination is specified.

When using streams, you may need to additionally set CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing or CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing.

Sign Method (ECC Component)

Creates a hash signature using ECDSA or EdDSA.

Syntax

public void Sign();

Async Version
public async Task Sign();
public async Task Sign(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Sub Sign()

Async Version
Public Sub Sign() As Task
Public Sub Sign(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Sign will create a hash signature using ECDSA or EdDSA. The component will use the key specified by Key to hash the input data and sign the resulting hash.

Key must contain a private key created with a valid ECDSA or EdDSA algorithm. Algorithm is used to determine the eligibility of the key for this operation. Supported algorithms for signing are:

  • NIST Curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1)
  • Koblitz Curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1)
  • Brainpool Curves
  • Ed25519 and Ed448

See CreateKey for details about key creation and algorithms.

When this method is called, data will be read from the stream set by SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage.

The hash to be signed will be computed using the specified HashAlgorithm. The computed hash is stored in the HashValue property. The signed hash is stored in the HashSignature property.

To sign a hash without first computing it, set HashValue to a previously computed hash for the input data. Note: HashValue is not applicable when signing with a PureEdDSA algorithm such as Ed25519 or Ed448.

The Progress event will fire with updates for the hash computation progress only. The hash signature creation process is quick and does not require progress updates.

After calling Sign, the public key must be sent to the recipient along with HashSignature and the original input data so the other party may perform signature verification.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

The following properties are populated after calling this method:

When the Algorithm is Ed25519 or Ed448, the following additional parameters are applicable:

EdDSA keys can be used with a PureEdDSA algorithm (Ed25519/Ed448) or a HashEdDSA (Ed25519ph, Ed448ph) algorithm. This is controlled by the HashEdDSA property. By default, the component uses the PureEdDSA algorithm.

The PureEdDSA algorithm requires two passes over the input data but provides collision resilience. The collision resilience of PureEdDSA means that even if it is feasible to compute collisions for the hash function, the algorithm is still secure. When using PureEdDSA, HashValue is not applicable.

When using a HashEdDSA algorithm, the input is pre-hashed and supports a single pass over the data during the signing operation. To enable HashEdDSA, set HashEdDSA to True.

To specify context data when using Ed25519 or Ed448, set EdDSAContext.

Sign And Verify Example (ECDSA)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - PureEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - HashEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.HashEdDSA = true; //Use "ed25519ph" ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.HashEdDSA = true; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

VerifySignature Method (ECC Component)

Verifies the signature for the specified data.

Syntax

public bool VerifySignature();

Async Version
public async Task<bool> VerifySignature();
public async Task<bool> VerifySignature(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Public Function VerifySignature() As Boolean

Async Version
Public Function VerifySignature() As Task(Of Boolean)
Public Function VerifySignature(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of Boolean)

Remarks

VerifySignature will verify a hash signature and return True if successful or False otherwise.

Before calling this method, specify the input file by setting SetInputStream, InputFile, or InputMessage.

A public key and the hash signature are required to perform the signature verification. Specify the public key in SignerKey. Specify the hash signature in HashSignature.

When this method is called, the component will compute the hash for the specified file and populate HashValue. It will verify the signature using the specified SignerKey and HashSignature.

To verify the hash signature without first computing the hash, simply specify HashValue before calling this method. Note: HashValue is not applicable when the message was signed with a PureEdDSA algorithm such as Ed25519 or Ed448.

The Progress event will fire with updates for the hash computation progress only. The hash signature verification process is quick and does not require progress updates.

The following properties are applicable when calling this method:

Sign And Verify Example (ECDSA)

//Create an ECDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("secp256r1"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - PureEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Sign And Verify Example (EdDSA - HashEdDSA)

//Create an EdDSA key on Party 1 Ecc ecc1 = new Ecc(); ecc1.CreateKey("ed25519"); string ecc1_priv = ecc1.Key.PrivateKey; string ecc1_pub = ecc1.Key.PublicKey; //Sign the data on Party 1 string originalData = "hello ecc"; ecc1.Reset(); ecc1.Key.PrivateKey = ecc1_priv; ecc1.InputMessage = originalData; ecc1.UseHex = true; //Hex encode the hash signature for ease of use. ecc1.HashEdDSA = true; //Use "ed25519ph" ecc1.Sign(); string hashSignature = ecc1.HashSignature; //Transmit the hash signature, public key, and original data to Party 2 //Verify the data on Party 2 Ecc ecc2 = new Ecc(); ecc2.SignerKey.PublicKey = ecc1_pub; ecc2.InputMessage = originalData; ecc2.HashSignature = hashSignature; ecc2.HashEdDSA = true; ecc2.UseHex = true; //Decode the hex encoded hash signature bool isVerified = ecc2.VerifySignature();

Error Event (ECC Component)

Fired when information is available about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

public delegate void OnErrorHandler(object sender, ECCErrorEventArgs e);

public class ECCErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}
Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnErrorHandler(sender As Object, e As ECCErrorEventArgs)

Public Class ECCErrorEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ErrorCode As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Description As String
End Class

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the component throws an exception.

The ErrorCode parameter contains an error code, and the Description parameter contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

Progress Event (ECC Component)

Fired as progress is made.

Syntax

public event OnProgressHandler OnProgress;

public delegate void OnProgressHandler(object sender, ECCProgressEventArgs e);

public class ECCProgressEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public long BytesProcessed { get; }
  public int PercentProcessed { get; }
}
Public Event OnProgress As OnProgressHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnProgressHandler(sender As Object, e As ECCProgressEventArgs)

Public Class ECCProgressEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property BytesProcessed As Long
  Public ReadOnly Property PercentProcessed As Integer
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired automatically as data is processed by the component.

The PercentProcessed parameter indicates the current status of the operation.

The BytesProcessed parameter holds the total number of bytes processed so far.

Certificate Type

This is the digital certificate being used.

Remarks

This type describes the current digital certificate. The certificate may be a public or private key. The fields are used to identify or select certificates.

The following fields are available:

Fields

EffectiveDate
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The date on which this certificate becomes valid. Before this date, it is not valid. The date is localized to the system's time zone. The following example illustrates the format of an encoded date:

23-Jan-2000 15:00:00.

ExpirationDate
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The date on which the certificate expires. After this date, the certificate will no longer be valid. The date is localized to the system's time zone. The following example illustrates the format of an encoded date:

23-Jan-2001 15:00:00.

ExtendedKeyUsage
string (read-only)

Default: ""

A comma-delimited list of extended key usage identifiers. These are the same as ASN.1 object identifiers (OIDs).

Fingerprint
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The hex-encoded, 16-byte MD5 fingerprint of the certificate. This property is primarily used for keys which do not have a corresponding X.509 public certificate, such as PEM keys that only contain a private key. It is commonly used for SSH keys.

The following example illustrates the format: bc:2a:72:af:fe:58:17:43:7a:5f:ba:5a:7c:90:f7:02

FingerprintSHA1
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The hex-encoded, 20-byte SHA-1 fingerprint of the certificate. This property is primarily used for keys which do not have a corresponding X.509 public certificate, such as PEM keys that only contain a private key. It is commonly used for SSH keys.

The following example illustrates the format: 30:7b:fa:38:65:83:ff:da:b4:4e:07:3f:17:b8:a4:ed:80:be:ff:84

FingerprintSHA256
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The hex-encoded, 32-byte SHA-256 fingerprint of the certificate. This property is primarily used for keys which do not have a corresponding X.509 public certificate, such as PEM keys that only contain a private key. It is commonly used for SSH keys.

The following example illustrates the format: 6a:80:5c:33:a9:43:ea:b0:96:12:8a:64:96:30:ef:4a:8a:96:86:ce:f4:c7:be:10:24:8e:2b:60:9e:f3:59:53

Issuer
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The issuer of the certificate. This field contains a string representation of the name of the issuing authority for the certificate.

PrivateKey
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The private key of the certificate (if available). The key is provided as PEM/Base64-encoded data.

Note: The PrivateKey may be available but not exportable. In this case, PrivateKey returns an empty string.

PrivateKeyAvailable
bool (read-only)

Default: False

Whether a PrivateKey is available for the selected certificate. If PrivateKeyAvailable is True, the certificate may be used for authentication purposes (e.g., server authentication).

PrivateKeyContainer
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The name of the PrivateKey container for the certificate (if available). This functionality is available only on Windows platforms.

PublicKey
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The public key of the certificate. The key is provided as PEM/Base64-encoded data.

PublicKeyAlgorithm
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The textual description of the certificate's public key algorithm. The property contains either the name of the algorithm (e.g., "RSA" or "RSA_DH") or an object identifier (OID) string representing the algorithm.

PublicKeyLength
int (read-only)

Default: 0

The length of the certificate's public key (in bits). Common values are 512, 1024, and 2048.

SerialNumber
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The serial number of the certificate encoded as a string. The number is encoded as a series of hexadecimal digits, with each pair representing a byte of the serial number.

SignatureAlgorithm
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The text description of the certificate's signature algorithm. The property contains either the name of the algorithm (e.g., "RSA" or "RSA_MD5RSA") or an object identifier (OID) string representing the algorithm.

Store
string

Default: "MY"

The name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The StoreType field denotes the type of the certificate store specified by Store. If the store is password-protected, specify the password in StorePassword.

Store is used in conjunction with the Subject field to specify client certificates. If Store has a value, and Subject or Encoded is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please see the Subject field for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform dependent.

The following designations are the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

MYA certificate store holding personal certificates with their associated private keys.
CACertifying authority certificates.
ROOTRoot certificates.

When the certificate store type is cstPFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is cstPFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e., PKCS#12 certificate store).

StoreB
byte []

Default: "MY"

The name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The StoreType field denotes the type of the certificate store specified by Store. If the store is password-protected, specify the password in StorePassword.

Store is used in conjunction with the Subject field to specify client certificates. If Store has a value, and Subject or Encoded is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please see the Subject field for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform dependent.

The following designations are the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

MYA certificate store holding personal certificates with their associated private keys.
CACertifying authority certificates.
ROOTRoot certificates.

When the certificate store type is cstPFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is cstPFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e., PKCS#12 certificate store).

StorePassword
string

Default: ""

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this field is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

StoreType
CertStoreTypes

Default: 0

The type of certificate store for this certificate.

The component supports both public and private keys in a variety of formats. When the cstAuto value is used, the component will automatically determine the type. This field can take one of the following values:

0 (cstUser - default)For Windows, this specifies that the certificate store is a certificate store owned by the current user.

Note: This store type is not available in Java.

1 (cstMachine)For Windows, this specifies that the certificate store is a machine store.

Note: This store type is not available in Java.

2 (cstPFXFile)The certificate store is the name of a PFX (PKCS#12) file containing certificates.
3 (cstPFXBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary or Base64-encoded) representing a certificate store in PFX (PKCS#12) format.
4 (cstJKSFile)The certificate store is the name of a Java Key Store (JKS) file containing certificates.

Note: This store type is only available in Java.

5 (cstJKSBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary or Base64-encoded) representing a certificate store in Java Key Store (JKS) format.

Note: This store type is only available in Java.

6 (cstPEMKeyFile)The certificate store is the name of a PEM-encoded file that contains a private key and an optional certificate.
7 (cstPEMKeyBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary or Base64-encoded) that contains a private key and an optional certificate.
8 (cstPublicKeyFile)The certificate store is the name of a file that contains a PEM- or DER-encoded public key certificate.
9 (cstPublicKeyBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary or Base64-encoded) that contains a PEM- or DER-encoded public key certificate.
10 (cstSSHPublicKeyBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary or Base64-encoded) that contains an SSH-style public key.
11 (cstP7BFile)The certificate store is the name of a PKCS#7 file containing certificates.
12 (cstP7BBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary) representing a certificate store in PKCS#7 format.
13 (cstSSHPublicKeyFile)The certificate store is the name of a file that contains an SSH-style public key.
14 (cstPPKFile)The certificate store is the name of a file that contains a PPK (PuTTY Private Key).
15 (cstPPKBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary) that contains a PPK (PuTTY Private Key).
16 (cstXMLFile)The certificate store is the name of a file that contains a certificate in XML format.
17 (cstXMLBlob)The certificate store is a string that contains a certificate in XML format.
18 (cstJWKFile)The certificate store is the name of a file that contains a JWK (JSON Web Key).
19 (cstJWKBlob)The certificate store is a string that contains a JWK (JSON Web Key).
21 (cstBCFKSFile)The certificate store is the name of a file that contains a BCFKS (Bouncy Castle FIPS Key Store).

Note: This store type is only available in Java and .NET.

22 (cstBCFKSBlob)The certificate store is a string (binary or Base64-encoded) representing a certificate store in BCFKS (Bouncy Castle FIPS Key Store) format.

Note: This store type is only available in Java and .NET.

23 (cstPKCS11)The certificate is present on a physical security key accessible via a PKCS#11 interface.

To use a security key, the necessary data must first be collected using the CertMgr component. The ListStoreCertificates method may be called after setting CertStoreType to cstPKCS11, CertStorePassword to the PIN, and CertStore to the full path of the PKCS#11 DLL. The certificate information returned in the CertList event's CertEncoded parameter may be saved for later use.

When using a certificate, pass the previously saved security key information as the Store and set StorePassword to the PIN.

Code Example. SSH Authentication with Security Key: certmgr.CertStoreType = CertStoreTypes.cstPKCS11; certmgr.OnCertList += (s, e) => { secKeyBlob = e.CertEncoded; }; certmgr.CertStore = @"C:\Program Files\OpenSC Project\OpenSC\pkcs11\opensc-pkcs11.dll"; certmgr.CertStorePassword = "123456"; //PIN certmgr.ListStoreCertificates(); sftp.SSHCert = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPKCS11, secKeyBlob, "123456", "*"); sftp.SSHUser = "test"; sftp.SSHLogon("myhost", 22);

99 (cstAuto)The store type is automatically detected from the input data. This setting may be used with both public and private keys and can detect any of the supported formats automatically.

SubjectAltNames
string (read-only)

Default: ""

Comma-separated lists of alternative subject names for the certificate.

ThumbprintMD5
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The MD5 hash of the certificate. It is primarily used for X.509 certificates. If the hash does not already exist, it is automatically computed.

ThumbprintSHA1
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The SHA-1 hash of the certificate. It is primarily used for X.509 certificates. If the hash does not already exist, it is automatically computed.

ThumbprintSHA256
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The SHA-256 hash of the certificate. It is primarily used for X.509 certificates. If the hash does not already exist, it is automatically computed.

Usage
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The text description of UsageFlags.

This value will be one or more of the following strings and will be separated by commas:

  • Digital Signature
  • Non-Repudiation
  • Key Encipherment
  • Data Encipherment
  • Key Agreement
  • Certificate Signing
  • CRL Signing
  • Encipher Only

If the provider is OpenSSL, the value is a comma-separated list of X.509 certificate extension names.

UsageFlags
int (read-only)

Default: 0

The flags that show intended use for the certificate. The value of UsageFlags is a combination of the following flags:

0x80Digital Signature
0x40Non-Repudiation
0x20Key Encipherment
0x10Data Encipherment
0x08Key Agreement
0x04Certificate Signing
0x02CRL Signing
0x01Encipher Only

Please see the Usage field for a text representation of UsageFlags.

This functionality currently is not available when the provider is OpenSSL.

Version
string (read-only)

Default: ""

The certificate's version number. The possible values are the strings "V1", "V2", and "V3".

Subject
string

Default: ""

The subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

This field will be populated with the full subject of the loaded certificate. When loading a certificate, the subject is used to locate the certificate in the store.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property.

If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks a random certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma-separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For instance, "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@nsoftware.com". Common fields and their meanings are as follows:

FieldMeaning
CNCommon Name. This is commonly a hostname like www.server.com.
OOrganization
OUOrganizational Unit
LLocality
SState
CCountry
EEmail Address

If a field value contains a comma, it must be quoted.

Encoded
string

Default: ""

The certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This field is used to assign a specific certificate. The Store and Subject fields also may be used to specify a certificate.

When Encoded is set, a search is initiated in the current Store for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, Subject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, Subject is set to an empty string.

EncodedB
byte []

Default: ""

The certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This field is used to assign a specific certificate. The Store and Subject fields also may be used to specify a certificate.

When Encoded is set, a search is initiated in the current Store for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, Subject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, Subject is set to an empty string.

Constructors

public Certificate();
Public Certificate()

Creates a instance whose properties can be set. This is useful for use with when generating new certificates.

public Certificate(string certificateFile);
Public Certificate(ByVal CertificateFile As String)

Opens CertificateFile and reads out the contents as an X.509 public key.

public Certificate(byte[] encoded);
Public Certificate(ByVal Encoded As Byte())

Parses Encoded as an X.509 public key.

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, string store, string storePassword, string subject);
Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As String, ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String)

StoreType identifies the type of certificate store to use. See for descriptions of the different certificate stores. Store is a file containing the certificate store. StorePassword is the password used to protect the store.

After the store has been successfully opened, the component will attempt to find the certificate identified by Subject . This can be either a complete or a substring match of the X.509 certificate's subject Distinguished Name (DN). The Subject parameter can also take an MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256 thumbprint of the certificate to load in a "Thumbprint=value" format.

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, string store, string storePassword, string subject, string configurationString);
Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As String, ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String, ByVal ConfigurationString As String)

StoreType identifies the type of certificate store to use. See for descriptions of the different certificate stores. Store is a file containing the certificate store. StorePassword is the password used to protect the store.

ConfigurationString is a newline-separated list of name-value pairs that may be used to modify the default behavior. Possible values include "PersistPFXKey", which shows whether or not the PFX key is persisted after performing operations with the private key. This correlates to the PKCS12_NO_PERSIST_KEY CryptoAPI option. The default value is True (the key is persisted). "Thumbprint" - an MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256 thumbprint of the certificate to load. When specified, this value is used to select the certificate in the store. This is applicable to the cstUser , cstMachine , cstPublicKeyFile , and cstPFXFile store types. "UseInternalSecurityAPI" shows whether the platform (default) or the internal security API is used when performing certificate-related operations.

After the store has been successfully opened, the component will attempt to find the certificate identified by Subject . This can be either a complete or a substring match of the X.509 certificate's subject Distinguished Name (DN). The Subject parameter can also take an MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256 thumbprint of the certificate to load in a "Thumbprint=value" format.

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, string store, string storePassword, byte[] encoded);
Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As String, ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Encoded As Byte())

StoreType identifies the type of certificate store to use. See for descriptions of the different certificate stores. Store is a file containing the certificate store. StorePassword is the password used to protect the store.

After the store has been successfully opened, the component will load Encoded as an X.509 certificate and search the opened store for a corresponding private key.

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, byte[] store, string storePassword, string subject);
Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As Byte(), ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String)

StoreType identifies the type of certificate store to use. See for descriptions of the different certificate stores. Store is a byte array containing the certificate data. StorePassword is the password used to protect the store.

After the store has been successfully opened, the component will attempt to find the certificate identified by Subject . This can be either a complete or a substring match of the X.509 certificate's subject Distinguished Name (DN). The Subject parameter can also take an MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256 thumbprint of the certificate to load in a "Thumbprint=value" format.

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, byte[] store, string storePassword, string subject, string configurationString);
Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As Byte(), ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String, ByVal ConfigurationString As String)

StoreType identifies the type of certificate store to use. See for descriptions of the different certificate stores. Store is a byte array containing the certificate data. StorePassword is the password used to protect the store.

After the store has been successfully opened, the component will attempt to find the certificate identified by Subject . This can be either a complete or a substring match of the X.509 certificate's subject Distinguished Name (DN). The Subject parameter can also take an MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256 thumbprint of the certificate to load in a "Thumbprint=value" format.

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, byte[] store, string storePassword, byte[] encoded);
Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As Byte(), ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Encoded As Byte())

StoreType identifies the type of certificate store to use. See for descriptions of the different certificate stores. Store is a byte array containing the certificate data. StorePassword is the password used to protect the store.

After the store has been successfully opened, the component will load Encoded as an X.509 certificate and search the opened store for a corresponding private key.

ECCKey Type

Contains the parameters for the ECC algorithm.

Remarks

This type is made up of fields that represent the private and public key parameters used by the ECC operations. The PrivateKey and PublicKey parameters hold a PEM formatted value for easy transport and storage of keys.

NIST, Koblitz, and Brainpool Curve Notes

Keys for use with NIST curves (secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1), Koblitz curves (secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, secp256k1), and Brainpool curves are made up of a number of individual parameters.

The public key consists of the following parameters:

The private key consists of one value:

Curve25519 and Curve448 Notes

Keys for use with Curve25519 or Curve448 are made up of a private key and public key field.

XPk holds the public key.

XSk holds the private key.

The following fields are available:

Fields

Algorithm
ECAlgorithms

Default: 0

This field holds the algorithm associated with the key. Possible values are:

  • 0 (eaSecp256r1)
  • 1 (eaSecp384r1)
  • 2 (eaSecp521r1)
  • 3 (eaEd25519)
  • 4 (eaEd448)
  • 5 (eaX25519)
  • 6 (eaX448)
  • 7 (eaSecp160k1)
  • 8 (eaSecp192k1)
  • 9 (eaSecp224k1)
  • 10 (eaSecp256k1)
  • 11 (eaBrainpoolP160r1)
  • 12 (eaBrainpoolP192r1)
  • 13 (eaBrainpoolP224r1)
  • 14 (eaBrainpoolP256r1)
  • 15 (eaBrainpoolP320r1)
  • 16 (eaBrainpoolP384r1)
  • 17 (eaBrainpoolP512r1)
  • 18 (eaBrainpoolP160t1)
  • 19 (eaBrainpoolP192t1)
  • 20 (eaBrainpoolP224t1)
  • 21 (eaBrainpoolP256t1)
  • 22 (eaBrainpoolP320t1)
  • 23 (eaBrainpoolP384t1)
  • 24 (eaBrainpoolP512t1)

When assigning a key using the PEM formatted PrivateKey and PublicKey, the Algorithm field will be automatically updated with the key algorithm.

When assigning a key using the raw key parameters (K, Rx, and Ry for NIST or XPk, and XSk for Curve25519/Curve448), the Algorithm field must be set manually to the key algorithm.

The following table summarizes the supported operations for keys created with each algorithm:

KeyAlgorithmSupported Operations
secp256r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp384r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp521r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
X25519ECDH (ComputeSecret)
X448ECDH (ComputeSecret)
Ed25519EdDSA (Sign and VerifySignature)
Ed448EdDSA (Sign and VerifySignature)
secp160k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp192k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp224k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
secp256k1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP160r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP192r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP224r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP256r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP320r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP384r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP512r1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP160t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP192t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP224t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP256t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP320t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP384t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)
brainpoolP512t1ECDH/ECIES/ECDSA (ComputeSecret, Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, and VerifySignature)

K
string

Default: ""

Represents the private key (K) parameter.

Note: This value is only applicable when using a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

KB
byte []

Default: ""

Represents the private key (K) parameter.

Note: This value is only applicable when using a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

PrivateKey
string

Default: ""

This field is a PEM formatted private key. The purpose of this field is to allow easier management of the private key parameters by using only a single value.

PublicKey
string

Default: ""

This field is a PEM formatted public key. The purpose of this field is to allow easier management of the public key parameters by using only a single value.

Rx
string

Default: ""

Represents the public key's Rx parameter.

Note: This value is only applicable when using a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

RxB
byte []

Default: ""

Represents the public key's Rx parameter.

Note: This value is only applicable when using a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

Ry
string

Default: ""

Represents the public key's Ry parameter.

Note: This value is only applicable when using a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

RyB
byte []

Default: ""

Represents the public key's Ry parameter.

Note: This value is only applicable when using a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

XPk
string

Default: ""

Holds the public key data.

Note: This value is only applicable when using Curve25519 or Curve448.

XPkB
byte []

Default: ""

Holds the public key data.

Note: This value is only applicable when using Curve25519 or Curve448.

XSk
string

Default: ""

Holds the private key data.

Note: This value is only applicable when using Curve25519 or Curve448.

XSkB
byte []

Default: ""

Holds the private key data.

Note: This value is only applicable when using Curve25519 or Curve448.

Constructors

public ECCKey();
Public ECCKey()

The default constructor creates a new ECCKey instance but does not assign a public or private key.

public ECCKey(byte[] rx, byte[] ry, int algorithm);
Public ECCKey(ByVal Rx As Byte(), ByVal Ry As Byte(), ByVal Algorithm As Integer)

The public key constructor assigns an existing public key.

public ECCKey(byte[] K, byte[] rx, byte[] ry, int algorithm);
Public ECCKey(ByVal K As Byte(), ByVal Rx As Byte(), ByVal Ry As Byte(), ByVal Algorithm As Integer)

The private key constructor assigns an existing private key.

Config Settings (ECC Component)

The component accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

ECC Config Settings

AppendSecret:   An optional string to append to the secret agreement.

This setting specifies an optional string to append to the secret agreement before hashing it. This is applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

Note: This is not applicable when ComputeSecretKDF is set to 12 (ekdTLS).

CNGECDHKey:   The CNG ECDH key.

This setting may be set to specify the key exported from Microsoft's CNG before calling ComputeSecret. If key data was obtained from Microsoft's CNG API, it can be hex encoded and supplied here. The component will use this key when ComputeSecret is called.

CNGECDSAKey:   The CNG ECDSA key.

This setting may be set to specify the key exported from Microsoft's CNG before calling VerifySignature. If key data was obtained from Microsoft's CNG API, it can be hex encoded and supplied here. The component will use this key when VerifySignature is called.

ConcatAlgorithmId:   The AlgorithmId subfield of the OtherInfo field.

This setting specifies the AlgorithmId subfield of the OtherInfo field as described in the publication "NIST SP 800-56A" section 5.8.1. The value supplied to this setting must be a hex encoded string of the subfield data.

This setting is required when ComputeSecretKDF is set to ekdConcat. This setting is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

ConcatHashAlgorithm:   The hash algorithm to use when ComputeSecretKDF is Concat.

This setting optionally specifies the hash algorithm to use when ComputeSecretKDF is set to ekdConcat. Possible values are:

  • SHA1
  • SHA224
  • SHA256 (default)
  • SHA384
  • SHA512
  • RIPEMD160
ConcatPartyUInfo:   The PartyUInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.

This setting specifies the PartyUInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field as described in the publication "NIST SP 800-56A" section 5.8.1. The value supplied to this setting must be a hex encoded string of the subfield data.

This setting is required when ComputeSecretKDF is set to ekdConcat. This setting is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

ConcatPartyVInfo:   The PartyVInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.

This setting specifies the PartyVInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field as described in the publication "NIST SP 800-56A" section 5.8.1. The value supplied to this setting must be a hex encoded string of the subfield data.

This setting is required when ComputeSecretKDF is set to ekdConcat. This setting is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

ConcatSuppPrivInfo:   The SuppPrivInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.

This setting specifies the SuppPrivInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field as described in the publication "NIST SP 800-56A" section 5.8.1. The value supplied to this setting must be a hex encoded string of the subfield data.

This setting is optional when ComputeSecretKDF is set to ekdConcat. This setting is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

ConcatSuppPubInfo:   The SuppPubInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field.

This setting specifies the SuppPubInfo subfield of the OtherInfo field as described in the publication "NIST SP 800-56A" section 5.8.1. The value supplied to this setting must be a hex encoded string of the subfield data.

This setting is optional when ComputeSecretKDF is set to ekdConcat. This setting is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

ECDSASignatureFormat:   The format of the HashSignature when using ECDSA keys.

This setting specifies the format of HashSignature when signing with ECDSA keys. The way the HashSignature parameters are represented can be changed to be interoperable with other implementations. Possible values are:

  • 0 (Concatenated - default)
  • 1 (ASN)

Note: This setting is only applicable when Algorithm is set to a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve.

EdDSAContext:   A hex encoded string holding the bytes of the context when signing or verifying with Ed25519ctx.

This setting specifies up to 255 bytes of context data as a hex encoded string for signing and verifying.

This setting is only applicable when Algorithm is set to Ed25519 or Ed448. When this setting is specified, the Algorithm is Ed25519, and HashEdDSA is False, the component will automatically use Ed25519ctx.

If this value is specified before calling Sign, it must also be set prior to calling VerifySignature.

EncryptionKeySize:   The encryption key size.

This setting specifies the AES encryption key size in bits when EncryptionAlgorithm is set to AES. Possible values are:

  • 128
  • 192
  • 256 (default)
This setting is only applicable when calling Encrypt.
HMACKey:   A key to use when generating a Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC).

This key is incorporated into the hashing process to add entropy to the resulting hash code, making the plaintext harder to guess and increasing the message security. The value supplied here must be hex encoded.

This is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

HMACKeySize:   The HMAC key size to be used during encryption.

This setting optionally specifies the HMAC key size to be used during encryption and decryption. If set to 0 (default), the component will automatically select the key size based on the algorithm specified in HMACAlgorithm.

This setting is only applicable when calling Encrypt or Decrypt.

HMACOptionalInfo:   Optional data to be used during encryption and decryption during the HMAC step.

This setting optionally specifies data to be used with the specified HMACAlgorithm as part of the encryption and decryption process. This is additional data known to both parties that is included while performing the HMAC operation.

The value specified in this setting must a hex string.

If specified, this must be set before calling both Encrypt and Decrypt.

KDFOptionalInfo:   Optional data to be used during encryption and decryption during the key derivation step.

This setting optionally specifies data to be used with the specified KDF as part of the encryption and decryption process. This is additional data known to both parties that is included while performing key derivation.

The value specified in this setting must a hex string.

If specified, this must be set before calling both Encrypt and Decrypt.

PrependSecret:   An optional string to prepend to the secret agreement.

This setting specifies an optional string to prepend to the secret agreement before hashing it. This is applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

Note: This is not applicable when ComputeSecretKDF is set to 12 (ekdTLS).

StrictKeyValidation:   Whether to validate provided public keys based on private keys.

This setting performs additional checks prior to using specified keys to validate that the public key corresponds to the provided private key.

When using keys with the algorithm Ed25519, Ed448, X25519, or X448, the component will calculate the public key based on the provided private key and compare it to the provided public key to ensure they match.

When using keys with a NIST, Koblitz, or Brainpool curve, the component will perform calculations to verify that the public key is a point on the curve. The component will also calculate the public key based on the provided private key and compare it to the provided public key to ensure they match.

The default value is False and the component will use the public and private keys as provided without any additional checks.

TLSLabel:   The TLS PRF label.

This setting specifies a string representing the PRF label. This setting is required when ComputeSecretKDF set to 12 (ekdTLS). It is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

TLSSeed:   The TLS PRF Seed.

This setting specifies the hex encoded TLS PRF Seed. The seed value must be 64 bytes in length before hex encoding. This setting is required when ComputeSecretKDF set to 12 (ekdTLS). It is only applicable when calling ComputeSecret.

Base Config Settings

BuildInfo:   Information about the product's build.

When queried, this setting will return a string containing information about the product's build.

GUIAvailable:   Whether or not a message loop is available for processing events.

In a GUI-based application, long-running blocking operations may cause the application to stop responding to input until the operation returns. The component will attempt to discover whether or not the application has a message loop and, if one is discovered, it will process events in that message loop during any such blocking operation.

In some non-GUI applications, an invalid message loop may be discovered that will result in errant behavior. In these cases, setting GUIAvailable to false will ensure that the component does not attempt to process external events.

LicenseInfo:   Information about the current license.

When queried, this setting will return a string containing information about the license this instance of a component is using. It will return the following information:

  • Product: The product the license is for.
  • Product Key: The key the license was generated from.
  • License Source: Where the license was found (e.g., RuntimeLicense, License File).
  • License Type: The type of license installed (e.g., Royalty Free, Single Server).
  • Last Valid Build: The last valid build number for which the license will work.
MaskSensitiveData:   Whether sensitive data is masked in log messages.

In certain circumstances it may be beneficial to mask sensitive data, like passwords, in log messages. Set this to true to mask sensitive data. The default is true.

This setting only works on these components: AS3Receiver, AS3Sender, Atom, Client(3DS), FTP, FTPServer, IMAP, OFTPClient, SSHClient, SCP, Server(3DS), Sexec, SFTP, SFTPServer, SSHServer, TCPClient, TCPServer.

UseFIPSCompliantAPI:   Tells the component whether or not to use FIPS certified APIs.

When set to true, the component will utilize the underlying operating system's certified APIs. Java editions, regardless of OS, utilize Bouncy Castle Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), while all other Windows editions make use of Microsoft security libraries.

FIPS mode can be enabled by setting the UseFIPSCompliantAPI configuration setting to true. This is a static setting that applies to all instances of all components of the toolkit within the process. It is recommended to enable or disable this setting once before the component has been used to establish a connection. Enabling FIPS while an instance of the component is active and connected may result in unexpected behavior.

For more details, please see the FIPS 140-2 Compliance article.

Note: This setting is applicable only on Windows.

Note: Enabling FIPS compliance requires a special license; please contact sales@nsoftware.com for details.

UseInternalSecurityAPI:   Whether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation.

When set to false, the component will use the system security libraries by default to perform cryptographic functions where applicable. In this case, calls to unmanaged code will be made. In certain environments, this is not desirable. To use a completely managed security implementation, set this setting to true.

Setting this configuration setting to true tells the component to use the internal implementation instead of using the system security libraries.

On Windows, this setting is set to false by default. On Linux/macOS, this setting is set to true by default.

If using the .NET Standard Library, this setting will be true on all platforms. The .NET Standard library does not support using the system security libraries.

Note: This setting is static. The value set is applicable to all components used in the application.

When this value is set, the product's system dynamic link library (DLL) is no longer required as a reference, as all unmanaged code is stored in that file.

Trappable Errors (ECC Component)

ECC Errors

102   No Key specified.
104   Cannot read or write file.
111   OutputFile already exists and Overwrite is False.
120   Invalid curve.
124   HashSignature must be specified.
304   Cannot write file.
305   Cannot read file.
306   Cannot create file.