Protecting your private key with the OpenPGP smartcard
Card Games
Improve communication security with GnuPG and the OpenPGP smartcard.
Gnu Privacy Guard [1] (sometimes called GnuPG or just GPG) has long served the open source community as a tool for encrypting email and other documents. GnuPG, which is based on the OpenPGP standard, uses the familiar asymmetric key exchange approach, with a public key to encrypt the message and a private key to decrypt it. The public key is shared with other users, and the private key is kept secret by the message receiver. As long as no one discovers the private key, only the message receiver will be able to read the message.
GnuPG is thus a powerful tool for ensuring confidential communication – as long as the private key stays private. But protecting a private key is not as easy as it sounds. If you store the private key on your computer, the key is only as safe as your computer is. Your system could fall victim to malware, cyber attack, or a nosy system administrator, and if so, the private key would be at risk. On the other hand, if you are a mobile worker and you have the need to use the private key from multiple locations, lugging it around on a thumb drive poses a whole different set of security issues.
One solution that is gaining momentum is to carry the private key on a smartcard. The ISO/IEC 7816-4 standard defines a method for encoding cryptographic keys on a smartcard. The OpenPGP smartcard is an implementation of ISO/IEC 7816-4 for GnuPG and other OpenPGP-compatible encryption systems.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.