Our Goal

Auditors, security experts, and other industry professionals have long spoken out against the use of proprietary procedures in order to restrict the ability of customers to control their own Master Keys. Futurex is taking the first step to give the industry the opportunity to eliminate these methods.

Customers who willingly cede control over their Master Keys are essentially placing their ability to conduct business in the hands of their HSM vendor, and Futurex believes that this is wrong. The Futurex Freedom Plan offers a complete solution to assist organizations who are currently operating under restrictive HSM platforms in migrating to an environment in which they will retain full control over their Master Keys.

Payment HSMs made by a number of manufacturers knowingly use proprietary procedures to restrict the ability of their customers to control their own MFK/LMK using methods including, but not limited to, the following:

Implementing methods of Master Key storage such as through restriction of Master Key storage to non-interoperable smart cards

Intentionally using a non-peer reviewed proprietary manipulation of a secret value to derive a Master Key that is unknown to the customer

The use of proprietary methods of Master Key generation, loading, storage, and calculation results in the following negative consequences for the customer:

Significant costs arise and an entire infrastructure must be replaced if an organization wishes to incorporate HSMs manufactured by an alternate vendor

The HSM vendor gains control of the most important key in an organization's payment processing infrastructure, allowing them to dictate the terms and conditions of use to the customer

Implementing an enterprise payment solution across a vendor-neutral platform becomes impossible

We feel that our proven secure technology, dedication to providing Xceptional Support, and innovative development are our greatest assets. Futurex has served over 15,000 customers during our 30 years of operation and has never allowing a security breach. Now, through our program of offering free replacement of HSMs which use non-standards-based proprietary manipulation of Master Keys, we believe that we are setting a new standard for HSMs within the payments industry.