Application Signing Key Management for Secure Build Pipelines
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current key management solutions lack integration with development pipelines, leading to key leakage risks and unauthorized use, particularly in application signing processes across different operating systems.
Innovation Solution
A key management service hosts application signing keys and provides a unified interface for encryption and digital signature generation, integrated through plug-ins that adapt to various development workflows, ensuring secure key management and authorization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If keys are managed locally by application developers, then ease of operation is improved, but key security deteriorates due to key leakage risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a key management service as an intermediary between application developers and the key storage system. This service provides a unified interface for encryption and digital signature generation, allowing developers to operate conveniently while the service securely manages and protects the actual keys, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and key security.
2Reliability
If a centralized key management service is implemented, then key security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The key management service is designed with multi-functionality, providing unified interfaces for various operations including encryption, digital signature generation, and integration with different development workflows through plug-ins. This universal approach consolidates multiple functions into a single service, improving key security while managing complexity through standardization rather than increasing individual component complexity.
3Reliability
If key management is integrated with development pipelines, then key security is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to integration challenges across different operating systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs plug-in architecture that segments the key management integration into separate, interchangeable modules. Each plug-in is designed to work with specific operating systems or development pipelines (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows), allowing the core key management service to remain secure and centralized while adapting to different environments through modular plug-ins, thus resolving the contradiction between security and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
According to embodiments of the disclosure, a method, an apparatus, a device and a storage medium for key management are provided. The method includes: sending a signing request for an application to a key management service, the signing request including target data to be signed for the application; receiving a digital signature for the application from the key management service, the digital signature being obtained by encrypting the target data with a target key for the application; and generating a release version of the application based on the digital signature. The key management service proposed in the disclosure is easy to integrate with application development process, thus promoting developers to use the key management service to store keys instead of storing keys locally in a scattered manner. Thus, the problems of key leakage and unauthorized key use can be solved.