Shivam Sharma

An HSM is dedicated hardware that generates, stores, and uses cryptographic keys in a tamper-resistant environment. Here's how HSMs work, when you need one, and where HSM deployments fail operationally.

Learn how to sign Linux artifacts including RPM/DEB packages, kernel modules, container images, Git commits, and AppImages. Covers GPG, cosign, Sigstore, and CI/CD integration.

Complete guide to cryptographic hash functions covering SHA-256, SHA-3, MD5, BLAKE3, HMAC, and password hashing. Learn properties, security analysis, and how to choose the right hash function.

Master HashiCorp Vault's PKI secrets engine for automated certificate management. Covers CA setup, short-lived certificates, cert-manager integration, and production deployment.

Compare PKI solutions for small businesses including Let's Encrypt, Smallstep, EJBCA, and managed services. Covers implementation roadmaps, cost analysis, and compliance for SMBs.

Comprehensive analysis of TLS 1.2 vulnerabilities including BEAST, POODLE, Lucky13, Logjam, and Sweet32. Learn cipher suite hardening and why TLS 1.3 eliminates these attack vectors.

SSH key authentication replaces passwords with cryptographic proof of identity. Here's the full authentication flow, how to configure it securely, and where misconfigurations create vulnerabilities.

Deep dive into AES-256 encryption covering the algorithm internals, modes of operation (GCM, CBC, CTR), implementation in OpenSSL, Python, Java, and Go, plus key management best practices.

Compare ECDHE and DHE key exchange protocols covering security levels, performance benchmarks, forward secrecy, TLS cipher suite selection, recommended curves, and server configuration.

Complete PKCS#11 integration guide covering the Cryptoki API, slots/tokens/sessions model, OpenSSL engine configuration, Java SunPKCS11, Python PyKCS11, and HSM vendor setup.