Using Digital Certificates › Digital Certificates and Key Rings › Example: How an Encrypted B2B Tape is Read

Example: How an Encrypted B2B Tape is Read

The following example describes the process of reading a B2B tape using a digital certificate:

• When the encrypted tape is received by system A, CA Tape Encryption intercepts any attempt to read the tape.
• It reads in the certificate label and encrypted symmetric key from the user header labels.
• Using the certificate label, it queries the security system for the certificates on its key ring, and looks for the certificate that matches the label.
• Because the original certificate was added to the security system's database, it finds a match for the certificate.
• CA Tape Encryption obtains the private key from the security system, and uses it to decrypt the encrypted symmetric key.
• This symmetric key is then used to decrypt the data on the tape as it is read by the application.