Implementation Guide › Changing Communication Encryption Methods › Symmetric Encryption › How sechkey Configures Symmetric Encryption

How sechkey Configures Symmetric Encryption

A symmetric encryption key is 55 characters long. sechkey automatically truncates longer keys and pads out shorter keys.

When you use sechkey to change an encryption key, sechkey changes the key in all programs in the CA Access Control database at once. When sechkey changes the symmetric key or symmetric encryption method, it decrypts then re-encrypts the following:

• Encrypted records for any Policy Model installed on the computer
• All encrypted passwords in the CA Access Control database, including CA Access Control Message Queue passwords and, if CA Access Control uses bi-directional passwords, USER passwords
• The server private key, if the key is not password-protected
• The password for the server private key, if the key is password-protected

In addition, whenever you use a CA Access Control API to create a program that communicates with CA Access Control, the communication for the new program is encrypted with the same key.