The Linux Crypto API for user applications
May 11, 2023Oxana Kharitonova
Summary
This post introduces the Linux Kernel Crypto API as a mechanism for user applications to leverage hardware-accelerated cryptographic operations. It details how applications can interact with the kernel's crypto modules, explores the performance implications of using the API compared to user-space libraries like OpenSSL, and highlights the benefits of offloading encryption/decryption to the kernel for enhanced security and performance, particularly when integrated with kernel key retention services.
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