What is encryption passphrase

This makes the key file by itself useless to an attacker. It is not uncommon for files to leak from backups or decommissioned hardware, and hackers commonly exfiltrate files from compromised systems. To use an encrypted key, the passphrase is also needed. In a way, they are two separate factors of authentication. SSH keys are used for authenticating users in information systems.

The SSH keys themselves are private keys ; the private key is further encrypted using a symmetric encryption key derived from a passphrase. The key derivation is done using a hash function. Passphrases are commonly used for keys belonging to interactive users. Their use is strongly recommended to reduce risk of keys accidentally leaking from, e.

In practice, however, most SSH keys are without a passphrase. However, you can encrypt sensitive information such as passwords and private keys using an encryption passphrase. When the passphrase has been set and the data has been encrypted with it , you must then enter the passphrase when connecting to API Gateway with Policy Studio, or when API Gateway is starting up, so that the encrypted data can be decrypted. You can enter an encryption passphrase at the level of a local Policy Studio project on the local file system, and at the level of a running API Gateway group instance.

All sensitive information in the API Gateway configuration data is encrypted when you set an encryption passphrase. For more information, see API Gateway password management features. It also describes how to change the passphrase when it has been set initially. You can use the projchangepass command to change the encryption passphrase for a Policy Studio project. This example shows how to change the project passphrase on proj1 from changeme to newpassPhrase :. You can use the managedomain command to change the encryption passphrase for an API Gateway group.

The following example shows this using managedomain in command interpreter mode:. For more details on using managedomain , see Managedomain command reference. You can do this using the kpsadmin tool. You can use the managedomain command to change the encryption passphrase for a Node Manager. People are likely to choose easy-to-remember passphrases, which are also easy to guess. Dictionary attacks are also possible, though a passphrase is usually longer than a password, thereby making dictionary attacks more expensive.

People also are likely to keep their passphrases in wallets, stuck to computer monitors, tattooed on their foreheads, or in other obvious places. If you want a simple encryption method that provides moderate security, however, passphrase encryption may be sufficient.

You can reduce the efficiency of a dictionary attack by using salt. Typically, an attacker compiles a list of common or likely passphrases.