docs/quorum-key-management-system/src/hardware-procurement.md

87 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown

# Equipment
This page describes different equipment which is required, and makes opinionated
recommendations as well as alternatives. One may improve the overall security
of their system by using a variety of hardware in order to benefit from their
diversity, by reducing the likelihood that all hardware has suffered the same
kind of hardware supply chain compromise, has the same vulnerability present, or
has the same type of hardware failure issue.
Based on the decided upon [Quorum](selecting-quorum.md), the amount of equipment
required to set up a [QKMS](glossary.md#quorum-key-management-system-qkms) will
vary. In order to figure out what equipment is required, decide on a Quorum,
which is expressed as "N of M". Once you know your M, the required equipment list
is the following:
* M x 4 Smart Cards
* It is recommended to use two Smart Cards for storing each key pair
* Ideally two different types of hardware are used in order to reduce the
risk of simultaneous failure
* At least 1 Smart Card is required for each Operator Key and 1 Smart Card
for each Location Key
* The number of Operator Keys is M, and the number of Location Keys is also
M, hence the minimum of 2 x M Smart Cards, with the recommendation of using
two smart cards for each, resulting in 4 x M Smart Cards
* 2 + X Storage Devices
* 1 Storage Device for [AirgapOS](repeat-use-airgapos.md)
* 1 Storage Device for storing [Public Ceremony Artifacts](public-ceremony-artifact-storage)
* X, or *any* number of additional Storage Devices to duplicate the data, a
good measure would be to have at least 3 Storage Devices for the ceremony
* Librem 14 Laptop
* Get as many laptops as desired to satisfy your operational needs
* For each Librem 14, get a Librem Smart Card used for [PureBoot](initialize-pureboot-smart-card.md)
## Smart Cards
Smart Cards are primarily used for storing OpenPGP cryptographic keys which are
used as a building block for security controls. These smart cards hold OpenPGP
keys which are derived in secure environments. FIPS 140-2 is required but the
end user may choose their manufacturer.
* NitroKey 3 - because of its open source approach which helps improve the
overall security of the products
* YubiKey 5 - because of the widespread use and battle-tested reliability
* Librem Key - because of the manufacturer's approach to hardware supply chain
security and verifiable software
## Air-Gapped Computer
[Air-Gapped](glossary.md#Air-Gapped) computers are used for the lifecycle management
of cryptographic material that is part of the QKMS.
The primary hardware recommendation for a Air-Gapped Cmputer is the [Librem 14](https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/), manufactured by [Purism](puri.sm). Purism specializes in reducing hardware and
firmware security risks, especially via their [Anti-Interdiction Service](https://puri.sm/posts/anti-interdiction-services/) and [PureBoot](https://docs.puri.sm/PureBoot.html)
and as such is an excellent choice for hardware which high integrity assurance is
required for.
#### Alternative
An alternative approach is to use an off-the-shelf computer that is randomly
selected right before the ceremony, removing the radio cards from it, using it
to conduct a Ceremony, and then destroying the laptop using sufficiently
adequate method to ensure that no data forensics can be used to recover the data
from the drive, or memory. This can be achieved by using a combination of
incineration, degaussing, shredding and drilling. Special care should be taken
to completely destroy all components of the computer that are able to store data,
even if it's only in ephemeral form as some forensic methods all extraction of
data from components with "temporary memory".
Three letter agencies are known to collect and exploit physical destroyed drives,
as data can still be extracted from them using methods such as electron
microscopy, therefore a combination of degaussing, shredding and burning should
be used, and the remaining debris should be spread out across multiple disposal
locations.
## Storage Device
Can be an SD Card or USB Drive but should be procured from a vendor with
a good reputation, and ideally hardware of industrial grade should be prioritized.