Public Key Cryptography Standards (Reference: org., USA, cryptography)

In cryptography, PKCS stands for "Public Key Cryptography Standards". These are a group of public-key cryptography standards devised and published by RSA Security LLC, starting in the early 1990s.

<cryptography, standard> (PKCS) A set of standards for public-key cryptography, developed by {RSA Data Security, Inc.} in cooperation with an informal consortium, originally including Apple, Microsoft, DEC, Lotus, Sun and MIT. The PKCS have been cited by the {OSI Implementers' Workshop} (OIW) as a method for implementation of OSI standards. PKCS includes both algorithm-specific and algorithm-independent implementation standards. Many algorithms are supported, including RSA and Diffie-Hellman key exchange, however, only the latter two are specifically detailed. PKCS also defines an algorithm-independent syntax for digital signatures, digital envelopes, and extended digital certificates; this enables someone implementing any cryptographic algorithm whatsoever to conform to a standard syntax, and thus achieve interoperability. E-mail: pkcs@rsa.com. (1999-02-16)