Configure TLS authentication
For this step, you need to log in with an identity that has a role with the following permissions: Keys:All Slots, Management Commands:Certificates, Management Commands:Keys, Security:TLS Sign, and TLS Settings:Upload Key. You can use the default Administrator role and Admin identities.
To configure TLS authentication, choose one of the following methods:
- Enable server-side authentication.
- Create connection certificates for mutual authentication.
We recommend option 2, mutual authentication.
We recommend mutually authenticating to the HSM using client certificates, but the also supports server-side authentication. The following steps outline the process for enabling server-side authentication.
Choose one of the following methods to enable server-side authentication:
Go to the SSL/TLS Setup menu. Then, select the Excrypt Port in the Connection Pair drop-down list, check the Allow Anonymous box, and select [ Save ].
Option 2 | Create connection certificates for mutual authentication and generate a client keypair and CSR for Futurex CNG from a certreq policy file
As mentioned previously, we recommend mutually authenticating to the HSM by using client certificates, and the system enforces mutual authentication by default. The following example shows how to use FXCLI to generate a CA to sign the HSM server certificate and a CNG (FXCNG) client certificate. Then, it shows how to generate the client key pair and CSR by using the Windows certreq utility.
- For this example, you must connect the computer running FXCLI to the front USB port of the HSM.
- If you do not specify a file path for commands that create an output file, FXCLI saves the file to the current working directory.
- Using user-generated certificates requires you to load a PMK on the HSM.
- If you run help by itself, a full list of available commands displays. You can see the options for a command by running the command name followed by help.
This section explains the necessary steps to generate a CSR from a certreq policy file on the computer where you installed the CNG. When you generate the CSR file, the system creates a public/private key pair in the Windows Certificate Store. Then, the section describes how to use FXCLI to issue a signed certificate from the CSR, which you later associate with the public/private key pair stored in the Windows Certificate Store.
On the computer where CNG is installed, open a text editor.
Create a new file and copy and paste the following content into it:
Save the file with the .inf extension (for example, certreq_policy.inf).
Open either Command Prompt or PowerShell.
Go to the directory with the certreq policy .inf file.
Run the following command to generate a CSR from the certreq policy .inf file:
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
Connect your laptop to the HSM through the USB port on the front and run the following command:
Use the following command to log in with the default Admin1 and Admin2 identities. When prompted, enter the username and password. Run the command twice, once for each identity.
Generate a key pair and CSR for the Excrypt Port by using the following command:
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
Connect your laptop to the HSM through the USB port on the front and run the following command:
Use the following command to log in with the default Admin1 and Admin2 identities. When prompted, enter the username and password. Run the command twice, once for each identity.
Generate a TLS CA key pair and store it in an available slot on the HSM
Create a TLS CA certificate from the key pair you created in step 4.
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
Connect your laptop to the HSM through the USB port on the front and run the following command:
Use the following command to log in with the default Admin1 and Admin2 identities. When prompted, enter the username and password. Run the command twice, once for each identity.
Sign the CSR for the Excrypt Port using the CA you created in the previous section.
Push the signed server PKI to the Excrypt Port on the HSM.
Restart the SSL2TCP processor to apply the changes made to the Excrypt Port connection pair.
Sign the client CSR for CNG using the CA you created in the previous section.
This section explains the necessary steps to associate the signed CNG client TLS certificate with its corresponding private key in the Windows Certificate Store. Before making this association, you must import the CA certificate that issued the CNG client TLS certificate into the Trusted Root Certification Authorities Windows Certificate Store.
a | Import the CA certificate that issued the Futurex CNG client TLS certificate into the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store
On the computer where CNG is installed, open the Manage computer certificates program.
Right-click the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store and select All Tasks > Import.
Follow the steps in the Certificate Import Wizard to import the TLS CA root certificate file.
If it succeeds, you see a confirmation message.
b | Associate the signed Futurex CNG certificate with its corresponding private key in Windows Certificate Store
Open either Command Prompt or PowerShell.
Go to the directory with the signed CNG client TLS certificate file.
Run the following command to create an association between the signed CNG certificate and its corresponding key pair stored in your Windows account profile:
If the command succeeds, information about the installed certificate displays.