Overview#
PKCS 11 is a
Public-Key Cryptography Standard which defines a platform-independent
API to
cryptographic tokens, such as
Hardware Security Module (
HSM) and
Smart Cards, and names the
API itself "
Cryptoki" (from "
Cryptographic Token Interface" and pronounced as "crypto-key" - but "PKCS #11" is often used to refer to the
API as well as the standard that defines it).
The API defines most commonly used cryptographic object types (RSA keys, X.509 Certificates, DES/Triple DES keys, etc.) and all the functions needed to use, create/generate, modify and delete those objects.
There might be more information for this subject on one of the following: