What exactly is a "key container"?

Question

Is it something specific, with a definite structure, or just an arbitrary data file with some form of encryption to hold keys, and potentially other secret information? Can someone please explain the term or point me to a link.

Answer 1

By a large margin, the primary context in which I've encountered the term "key container" is as part of Microsoft's CryptoAPI. In this context, the short answer is that a key container is a logical structure that contains a set of key pairs according to its implementation.

Essentially, a key container is an abstract construct that's implemented by any of a number of cryptographic service providers (CSP), such as the Microsoft Base Cryptographic Provider. Key containers are stored, encrypted, in the system registry, and their data format is implementation-dependent. However, you can see an example of what a key container looks like by using the ASP.NET tool aspnet_regiis. (There may be equivalent tools to do this without having to install IIS, but I'm not aware of them.)

A few relevant references:

• Persistent Data Objects
• Creating a Key Container and Generating Keys
• Importing and Exporting Protected Configuration RSA Key Containers
• Cryptography Essentials