scope:

This part of ISO/IEC 11770 defines key management mechanisms based on asymmetric cryptographic techniques. It specifically addresses the use of asymmetric techniques to achieve the following goals. 1) Establish a shared secret key for a symmetric cryptographic technique between two entities A and B by key agreement. In a secret key agreement mechanism, the secret key is the result of a data exchange between the two entities A and B. Neither of them can predetermine the value of the shared secret key. 2) Establish a shared secret key for a symmetric cryptographic technique between two entities A and B by key transport. In a secret key transport mechanism, the secret key is chosen by one entity A and is transferred to another entity B, suitably protected by asymmetric techniques. 3) Make an entity's public key available to other entities by key transport. In a public key transport mechanism, the public key of entity A must be transferred to other entities in an authenticated way, but not requiring secrecy. Some of the mechanisms of this part of ISO/IEC 11770 are based on the corresponding authentication mechanisms in ISO/IEC 9798-3.