Nitrokey
reliable, independent, third-party sources. (December 2022) ) |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Hardware |
Founded | 2015 |
Headquarters | Germany |
Key people | Jan Suhr (CEO and Founder) |
Website | www |
Nitrokey is an open-source
History
In 2008 Jan Suhr, Rudolf Böddeker, and another friend were travelling and found themselves looking to use encrypted emails in
Technical features
Several Nitrokey models exist which each support different standards. For reference
Nitrokey 3 | Nitrokey Storage 2 | Nitrokey Pro 2[10] | Nitrokey Start[11] | Nitrokey HSM 2[12] | Nitrokey FIDO2[13] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIDO2
|
Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
One-time passwords | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
S/MIME | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
OpenPGP
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
The Nitrokey Storage product has the same features as the Nitrokey Pro 2 and additionally contains an encrypted mass storage.[14]
Characteristics
Nitrokey's devices store secret keys internally. As with earlier technologies including the
For accounts that accept Nitrokey credentials, a user-chosen PIN can be used to protect these against unauthorized access in case of loss or theft. However, loss of or damage to a Nitrokey (which is designed to last for 5-10 years) can also prevent the key's owner from being able to access his or her accounts. To guard against this, it is possible to generate keys in software so that they may be securely backed up to the best of the user's ability before they undergo a one-way transfer to the secure storage of a Nitrokey.[15]
Nitrokey is published as
Philosophy
Nitrokey's developers believe that proprietary systems cannot provide strong security and that security systems need to be open source. For instance there have been cases in which the NSA has intercepted security devices being shipped and implanted backdoors into them. In 2011 RSA was hacked and secret keys of securID tokens were stolen which allowed hackers to circumvent their authentication.[18] As revealed in 2010, many FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certified USB storage devices from various manufacturers could easily be cracked by using a default password.[19] Nitrokey, because of being open source and because of its transparency, wants to provide highly secure system and avoid security issues which its proprietary rivals are facing. Nitrokey's mission is to provide the best open source security key to protect the digital lives of its users.[20]
References
- ^ "Nitrokey | Secure your digital life". www.nitrokey.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ^ "Introduction | Nitrokey". www.nitrokey.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ^ "Krypto-Stick verschlüsselt Mails und Daten". c‘t Magazin für Computer und Technik. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
- ^ "Krypto-Multitool". c‘t Magazin für Computer und Technik. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
- ^ "Der mit Open-Source-Methoden entwickelte Crypto-USB-Stick". Linux-Magazin. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "GnuPG-SmartCard und den CryptoStick". Privacy-Handbuch. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ Heiderich, Mario; Horn, Jann; Krein, Nikolai (May 2015). "Pentest-Report Nitrokey Storage Firmware 05.2015" (PDF). Cure53. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Nedospasov, Dmitry; Heiderich, Mario (August 2015). "Pentest-Report Nitrokey Storage Hardware 08.2015" (PDF). Cure53. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "How to secure your Linux environment with Nitrokey USB smart card". Xmodulo. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "Nitrokey Pro". Nitrokey Pro Shop. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "Nitrokey Start". Nitrokey Start Shop. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "Nitrokey HSM". Nitrokey HSM Shop. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "Nitrokey FIDO2". Nitrokey FIDO2 Shop. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "Nitrokey Storage: USB Security Key for Encryption". Indiegogo. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ Thomas Ekström Hansen (2021-07-28). "Recovering from a broken smartcard". St Andrews University. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ "Nitrokey". GitHub. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "Nitrokey Storage Firmware and Hardware Security Audits". Open Technology Fund. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "RSA Break-In Leaves SecurID Users Sweating Bullets | Security | TechNewsWorld". www.technewsworld.com. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ^ "FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Certified USB Memory Stick Cracked - Schneier on Security". www.schneier.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ^ "Using CryptoStick as an HSM". Mozilla Security Blog. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 2016-01-07.