cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adve ...

, a Key Checksum Value (KCV) is the

checksum A checksum is a small-sized block of data derived from another block of digital data for the purpose of detecting errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. By themselves, checksums are often used to verify dat ...

of a

cryptographic key A key in cryptography is a piece of information, usually a string of numbers or letters that are stored in a file, which, when processed through a cryptographic algorithm, can encode or decode cryptographic data. Based on the used method, the key ...

. It is used to validate the key integrity or compare keys without knowing their actual values. The KCV is computed by encrypting a block of bytes, each with value '00' or '01', with the cryptographic key and retaining the first 6 hexadecimal characters of the encrypted result. It is used in

key management Key management refers to management of cryptographic keys in a cryptosystem. This includes dealing with the generation, exchange, storage, use, crypto-shredding (destruction) and replacement of keys. It includes cryptographic protocol design, ...

in different ciphering devices, like SIM-cards or Hardware Security Modules (HSM). In the GlobalPlatform technical specifications the KCV is defined for DES/3DES and AES keys as follows: The same definition is used by the

GSMA The GSM Association (commonly referred to as 'the GSMA' or ''Global System for Mobile Communications'', originally ''Groupe Spécial Mobile'') is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More ...

."Remote Provisioning Architecture for Embedded UICC 3.1"
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'', May 2016, Annex F

References

{{reflist Key management