CryptoKeyStorage Component

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The CryptoKeyStorage component offers key storage functionality for a variety of key store types.

Syntax

nsoftware.SecureBlackbox.CryptoKeyStorage

Remarks

CryptoKeyStorage provides access to many types of key stores, such as files or PKCS#11.

Property List

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

Method List

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

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.

Config Settings

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

FIPSMode Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Reserved.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool FIPSMode { get; set; }

Public Property FIPSMode As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

Keys Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

An accessor to the collection of keys contained in the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CryptoKeyList Keys { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property Keys As CryptoKeyList

Remarks

Use this property to access, browse, or iterate over keys contained in the storage.

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

Opened Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Indicates whether the storage is in the open state.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Opened { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property Opened As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Use this property to check if the storage has been 'opened.' Different kinds of key storages imply different meanings for 'being opened', but generally a storage is open if it is available for operations.

Use Open method to open a storage.

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

PinnedKey Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

A pinned key.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CryptoKey PinnedKey { get; set; }

Public Property PinnedKey As CryptoKey

Remarks

Use this property to pin a key before adding it to the storage with AddPinned method.

This property is not available at design time.

SelectedKeys Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

A collection of selected keys.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CryptoKeyList SelectedKeys { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property SelectedKeys As CryptoKeyList

Remarks

This property contains a list of keys returned by Select method.

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

StorageID Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

A unique identifier of this storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string StorageID { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property StorageID As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to get a unique ID of this storage. The format of ID may differ for different kinds of key storages, and may range from a file path for a file storage, to a URI-like ID for a PKCS#11 storage, to an empty value for an in-memory storage.

This property is read-only.

StorageLocation Property (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Specifies the location of the currently opened storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string StorageLocation { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property StorageLocation As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to get the location of the active storage. The location indicates the nature of the storage and can be assigned with one of the below values (more values may be added in future):

This property is read-only.

AddPinned Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Adds the pinned key to the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void AddPinned();

Public Sub AddPinned()

Remarks

This method adds a key attached to the PinnedKey property to the storage. This method is a handy way of adding keys generated/returned by other components.

Clear Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Removes all existing keys from the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Clear();

Public Sub Clear()

Remarks

Use this method to empty the storage.

Close Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Closes the logical storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Close(bool save);

Public Sub Close(ByVal Save As Boolean)

Remarks

Use this method to close logical storages connected to PKCS#11-compliant hardware security modules, or storages of similar persistent kinds. Closing a persistent storage with this method is important, as unused but unclosed storages consume extra resources and may result in eventual key locks.

Config Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Config(string configurationString);

Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As 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.

CreateNew Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Creates a new storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void CreateNew(string storageLocation, string storageID);

Public Sub CreateNew(ByVal StorageLocation As String, ByVal StorageID As String)

Remarks

Use this method to create new key storage.

StorageLocation specifies where the new storage should be created, and StorageID contains a unique storage identifier.

DoAction Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Performs an additional action.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string DoAction(string actionID, string actionParams);

Public Function DoAction(ByVal ActionID As String, ByVal ActionParams As String) As String

Remarks

DoAction is a generic method available in every component. It is used to perform an additional action introduced after the product major release. The list of actions is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier (case insensitive) of the action is provided in the ActionID parameter.

ActionParams contains the value of a single parameter, or a list of multiple parameters for the action in the form of PARAM1=VALUE1;PARAM2=VALUE2;....

GetStorageProperty Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Returns the value of a custom key storage property.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetStorageProperty(string propName);

Public Function GetStorageProperty(ByVal PropName As String) As String

Remarks

This method, together with SetStorageProperty, provides an extensible way of managing the certificate storage's settings that are not available through the primary properties of the component. The list of settings may be extended in future, in response to emergence of new storage variants and recognition of non-obvious storage usage scenarios.

Currently no custom properties are available for this component.

ImportBytes Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Imports a key to the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void ImportBytes(byte[] value, int format, string keyAlgorithm, string scheme, string schemeParams, int keyType, string password);

Public Sub ImportBytes(ByVal Value As Byte(), ByVal Format As Integer, ByVal KeyAlgorithm As String, ByVal Scheme As String, ByVal SchemeParams As String, ByVal KeyType As Integer, ByVal Password As String)

Remarks

Use this method to add a key from a byte array.

ImportFromFile Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Imports a key to the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void ImportFromFile(string fileName, int format, string keyAlgorithm, string scheme, string schemeParams, int keyType, string password);

Public Sub ImportFromFile(ByVal FileName As String, ByVal Format As Integer, ByVal KeyAlgorithm As String, ByVal Scheme As String, ByVal SchemeParams As String, ByVal KeyType As Integer, ByVal Password As String)

Remarks

Use this method to add a key stored in a file.

ImportFromStream Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Imports a key to the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void ImportFromStream(System.IO.Stream stream, int format, string keyAlgorithm, string scheme, string schemeParams, int keyType, string password);

Public Sub ImportFromStream(ByVal Stream As System.IO.Stream, ByVal Format As Integer, ByVal KeyAlgorithm As String, ByVal Scheme As String, ByVal SchemeParams As String, ByVal KeyType As Integer, ByVal Password As String)

Remarks

Use this method to add a key contained in a stream.

ListStores Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Returns a list of individual stores available within the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string ListStores();

Public Function ListStores() As String

Remarks

Use this method to query a list of individual stores available in the opened storage.

The contents of the list depends on the type of the store used and the parameters it is opened with. For PKCS#11 stores the method returns a list of slot descriptions for all slots published by the driver.

The store identifiers are separated from each other with a CRLF sequence.

Login Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Signs in to a session or elevates the session rights.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Login(int sessionType, string pin, bool readOnly);

Public Sub Login(ByVal SessionType As Integer, ByVal Pin As String, ByVal ReadOnly As Boolean)

Remarks

Use this method to sign in to a session with a required access type. Note that in some cases you may call this method more than one time for a specific session to elevate your access rights, for example: // open an unauthenticated session storage.Login(stUnauthenticated, "", false); // elevate the access rights for the session storage.Login(stUser, "password", false); Sessions are currently supported for PKCS#11 storage types only.

Logout Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Signs out of an opened session.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Logout(bool closeSesion);

Public Sub Logout(ByVal CloseSesion As Boolean)

Remarks

Use this method to sign out of a session. Pass true to CloseSession to shut the session down altogether.

This method is currently support for PKCS#11 storage type only.

Open Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Opens existing storage or creates one in memory.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Open(string storageID);

Public Sub Open(ByVal StorageID As String)

Remarks

Use this method to open the storage with the given StorageID. Key storages can come from several different locations, detailed below.

Memory

A storage can be created in memory by passing an empty string ("").

File

A storage can be opened from a file using one of two syntaxes:

• C:\Certs\keys.pem
• file://C:/Certs/keys.pem

Windows System

A storage can be opened from the Windows System using this syntax: system://{user}@{host}/?{params}

user is one of these values:

• currentuser
• localmachine
• currentservice

params are chosen from this list:

• store (required), is the name of the Windows store to access (e.g. "MY")
• readonly, whether to access the store with only read permissions. Use 0 for false, and 1 for true.

PKCS#11 Device

A storage can be opened from a PKCS#11 device using this syntax: pkcs11://{user}:{pin}@/{driverpath}?{params}

user is the username used to access the device.

pin is the pin code used to access the device.

driverpath is the path to the driver used to access the device.

params are chosen from this list:

• slot, the token slot to access on the device. If not provided, one will be chosen automatically.
• readonly, whether to access the device with only read permissions. Use 0 for false, and 1 for true.

KMIP Server

A storage can be opened from a KMIP server using this syntax: mailto:{password}@{remotehost}:{remoteport}/?{params}

password is the password use to authenticate to the server.

remotehost is the FQDN to the server.

remoteport is the server port to connect to.

params are chosen from this list:

• encoder, the message encoding used to communicate with the server. Possible values are:
  • 1 (XML)
  • 2 (JSON)
  • 3 (TTLV)

Refresh Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Refreshes all storage keychains.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Refresh();

Public Sub Refresh()

Remarks

Call this method to refresh the storage.

Remove Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Removes a key from the storage.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Remove(int index);

Public Sub Remove(ByVal Index As Integer)

Remarks

Use this method to remove a key from the storage by its index.

Reset Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Resets the component settings.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Reset();

Public Sub Reset()

Remarks

Reset is a generic method available in every component.

Select Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Allows the selection of keys from the store.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Select(string filter, bool privateKeyNeeded, int maxCount);

Public Sub Select(ByVal Filter As String, ByVal PrivateKeyNeeded As Boolean, ByVal MaxCount As Integer)

Remarks

This function allows the user to select keys from the storage by applying a Filter. PrivateKeyNeeded specifies whether only private keys should be selected. MaxCount limits the number of certificates selected.

SetStorageProperty Method (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Sets the value of a custom key storage property.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SetStorageProperty(string propName, string propValue);

Public Sub SetStorageProperty(ByVal PropName As String, ByVal PropValue As String)

Remarks

This method, together with GetStorageProperty, provides an extensible way of managing the certificate storage's settings that are not available through the primary properties of the component. The list of settings may be extended in future, in response to emergence of new storage variants and recognition of non-obvious storage usage scenarios.

Currently no custom properties are available for this component.

Error Event (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

Fires when an errors happens during a key storage operation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

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

public class CryptoKeyStorageErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}

Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

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

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

Remarks

This event reports an exceptional situation during a key storage operation.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error.

Notification Event (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

This event notifies the application about an underlying control flow event.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnNotificationHandler OnNotification;

public delegate void OnNotificationHandler(object sender, CryptoKeyStorageNotificationEventArgs e);

public class CryptoKeyStorageNotificationEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string EventID { get; }
  public string EventParam { get; }
}

Public Event OnNotification As OnNotificationHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnNotificationHandler(sender As Object, e As CryptoKeyStorageNotificationEventArgs)

Public Class CryptoKeyStorageNotificationEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property EventID As String
  Public ReadOnly Property EventParam As String
End Class

Remarks

The component fires this event to let the application know about some event, occurrence, or milestone in the component. For example, it may fire to report completion of the document processing. The list of events being reported is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier of the event is provided in the EventID parameter. EventParam contains any parameters accompanying the occurrence. Depending on the type of the component, the exact action it is performing, or the document being processed, one or both may be omitted.

PasswordNeeded Event (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

This event is fired when a decryption password is needed.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnPasswordNeededHandler OnPasswordNeeded;

public delegate void OnPasswordNeededHandler(object sender, CryptoKeyStoragePasswordNeededEventArgs e);

public class CryptoKeyStoragePasswordNeededEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string NeededFor { get; }
  public string Password { get; set; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnPasswordNeeded As OnPasswordNeededHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnPasswordNeededHandler(sender As Object, e As CryptoKeyStoragePasswordNeededEventArgs)

Public Class CryptoKeyStoragePasswordNeededEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property NeededFor As String
  Public Property Password As String
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The component fires this event when a password is needed to decrypt a certificate or a private key.

In the handler of this event, assign the password to the Password parameter, or set Cancel to true to abort the operation.

The NeededFor parameter identifies the key or certificate for which the password is requested.

CryptoKey Type

This container represents a cryptographic key.

Remarks

This type is a universal placeholder for cryptographic keys.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public CryptoKey();

Public CryptoKey()

Config Settings (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

CryptoKeyStorage Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (CryptoKeyStorage Component)

CryptoKeyStorage Errors