Hardware Security Modules (HSMs)
Enterprise-grade hardware cryptography
Compliant and flexible HSM security
Futurex HSMs are the gold standard for cryptographic processing
Futurex delivers market-leading hardware security modules to protect your most sensitive data. They are FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and PCI HSM validated. Futurex HSMs handle both payment and general purpose encryption, as well as key lifecycle management. They are deployed on-premises, through the global VirtuCrypt cloud service, or as a hybrid model. Futurex HSM solutions support vendor-neutral APIs for unprecedented flexibility and easy integration.
Excrypt Touch
A portable, touch screen-based key management and configuration device
Vectera Plus
A general-purpose HSM solution with support for advanced encryption algorithms
Excrypt Plus
High-performance hardware security module to secure payment issuing and acquiring
Excrypt SSP Enterprise v.2
The world’s fastest hardware security module with a vast range of functionality
What is a hardware security module?
A hardware security module (HSM) is a specialized device that carries out cryptographic functions like encrypting data or managing encryption keys.
Why choose Futurex HSMs?
Futurex hardware security module solutions protect your most sensitive data with strong encryption, tamper resistance, and logical security. Futurex HSMs are FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and PCI HSM-validated. Our HSMs support vendor-neutral APIs, including the RESTful web API. When combined with the VirtuCrypt cloud, they gain virtually unlimited scalability. That’s why Futurex has led innovation among HSM providers for 40 years.
Robust scripting and automation architecture for managing enterprise deployments
Deploy on-premises or in the cloud for scalable and versatile enterprise solutions
Perform both payment and general-purpose processing on a single HSM platform
Powerful HSM virtualization capabilities for multi-application ecosystems
Vectera Plus
General-purpose HSM
The Vectera Plus is a versatile general-purpose HSM. Organizations running applications that need strong encryption and key management rely on the Vectera to meet regulatory requirements and secure their most sensitive data.
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Perfect for:
- General-purpose data protection, including database encryption and privileged access management
- Achieving compliance with data protection standards
- Increasing your organization’s security posture, no matter the industry or size
Core features
- Perform payment and general purpose functions simultaneously
- Supports all common cryptographic interfaces: PKCS #11, JCA/JCE, Open SSL, etc.
- Wide-ranging cryptographic functionality and algorithm support
- Secure code environment (SCE) for executing custom apps within cryptographic boundary
Excrypt Plus
Payment HSM
A high-performance payment HSM to safeguard card and mobile issuing and payment acquiring for banks, retailers, transaction processors, fin techs, payment gateways, and other payment service providers of any size.
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Perfect for:
- Payment transaction processing
- Payment key management
- Online and mobile PIN issuance
- P2PE and tokenization
- EMV issuance and validation
- General-purpose data encryption
Core features
- Process up to 5,000 transactions per second
- Universal compatibility with all major payment host applications
- User-friendly deployment and operation
- Supports all common payment industry APIs, including RESTful web API
Excrypt SSP Enterprise v.2
Enterprise-grade payment HSM
The world’s fastest enterprise payment HSM that delivers transaction processing speeds of up to 50,000 TPS, all in a 1U rack space. A powerful HSM capable of virtually limitless cryptographic functionality.
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Perfect for:
- EMV data preparation and processing
- P2PE and tokenization for cardholder data protection
- PIN issuance and validation
- General-purpose data encryption
Core features
- Process up to 50,000 payment transactions per second
- HSM virtualization for logically independent transaction processing environments
- Supports all common payment industry APIs, including RESTful web API
- Scripting and automation options simplify management and reduce costs
The Futurex advantage
Through extensive R&D and custom development projects with global Tier 1 organizations, our continuously expanding and innovative products and services exemplify our dedication to meeting the growing business needs of our international customers and partners.
Base Architecture Model (BAM)
Futurex technology protects the data of some of the largest Tier-1 organizations in the world. One of the keys to the continued success of the platform is the common code found in all Futurex devices known as the Base Architecture Model. Futurex develops, adds, and tests new features across all products through this model.
Tireless dedication to perfection
For over 40+ years, Futurex has been a trusted HSM provider of enterprise-class data security solutions. More than 15,000 organizations worldwide have used our innovative hardware security modules, key management servers, and cloud HSM solutions to address mission-critical data encryption and key management needs.
24/7/365 Xceptional Support
For each of our customers, Futurex Xceptional Support is a unique experience of personal interaction with our Solutions Architects. Whatever your questions or issues, we go above and beyond to provide you with the best-in-class Xceptional Support you expect and deserve whenever and wherever you are. We guarantee it.
Exploring Futurex hardware security modules (HSMs)
Innovation for hardware security modules
In recent years, managing hardware security modules – and cryptographic infrastructure in general – has gotten easier thanks to several important innovations. Secure encryption keys can be managed remotely, different applications can be consolidated into HSMs, and tricky integrations can be made easier with support for vendor-neutral APIs. Futurex has led this innovation by being the first in the industry by launching a global cloud service for HSMs, developing custom vendor-neutral APIs for payment processing, and building HSMs capable of both general purpose and payments cryptographic operations simultaneously.
Deploying an HSM
Futurex HSMs can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model. The scalability, resilience, and reduced cost of cloud environments and hybrid architectures are huge benefits. Some organizations opt for public cloud service providers like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The cloud-native capabilities of Futurex HSMs help to simplify the process of connecting to applications running in public clouds.
Managing HSMs
In legacy payment HSM environments, large organizations have become accustomed to managing HSMs on a one-to-one basis. Managing access controls, firmware updates, cryptographic keys, and configuration settings in this manner is incredibly time consuming, error-prone, and costly. New technology, however, has made “single pane of glass” infrastructure management possible, even with large groups of physical and virtual HSMs. Futurex’s Guardian Series 3 provides centralized configuration, monitoring, alerting, and orchestration for your cryptographic system, while the Excrypt Touch offers full remote management and key loading.
General purpose vs. payment HSMs
Most HSMs perform encryption for either payments or general-purpose use. Futurex HSMs were the first in the world with the capability to handle both kinds of cryptographic operations simultaneously. The unique design of our HSMs allows you to perform general purpose and payment HSM functions on one server, helping you reduce the overall cost of running your enterprise cryptographic ecosystem.
Increasing ROI with HSM virtualization
If your organization runs multiple applications in a single ecosystem, HSM virtualization is a great way to increase the ROI of your data security infrastructure. A multitenancy approach is ideal for an organization that wants to reduce its HSM footprint while continuing to scale with growing application integration needs.
Go with a reliable HSM vendor
It’s no secret that supply chain issues have become commonplace in the manufacture of physical devices. With over 40+ years in business, Futurex has built relationships that give us enviable supply chain confidence. Even more so, all Futurex HSMs are manufactured in the US with zero third-party reliance. Adding further support, our team of certified Solutions Architects are there to ensure you have the resources to protect your critical infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions
HSM stands for hardware security module. HSMs are cryptographic devices that serve as physically secure processing environments. Within these physically secure environments, you are able to perform cryptographic operations with the lowest risk possible for cyberattacks or data breaches. The types of cryptographic operations an HSM can perform are generally determined by the manufacturer. Operations can range from encrypting data to managing the overall health of your cryptographic infrastructure. If there are any cryptographic operations you need to perform, an HSM is the most secure way to do it.
Simply put, HSMs are the cornerstone of enterprise data security. The tamper resistance of hardware security modules helps keep IT infrastructure safe from cyberattacks and breaches, while mitigating the tremendous costs those disasters could potentially entail for business organizations.
A hardware security module (HSM) performs encryption. But encryption is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of capability. In reality, HSMs are capable of performing nearly any cryptographic operation an organization would ever need. Some common functions that HSMs do include:
- Encrypt data for payments, applications, databases, etc.
- Manage infrastructure with load balancing, monitoring, alerting, and device clustering
- Create and manage encryption keys for hundreds of applications
- Generate digital signatures to validate messages, software, and financial transactions
- Issue digital certificates to authenticate devices, users, websites, and more
- Among many other practical uses
In terms of encryption uses, HSMs encompass two main categories: payments and general-purpose. HSMs are used to process payment transaction data and manage the encryption keys involved. They can also be used to issue card and mobile EMV credentials.
Hardware security modules also specialize in key management. That is to say, logically managing the encryption keys used to encrypt and decrypt data. This process involves the use of algorithms to create encryption keys, distribute those keys to different applications, and then set policies that determine when keys should be retired from use, and ultimately deleted. Additionally, users can also configure HSMs to generate asymmetric key pairs. This means that a public key is used to encrypt data and a private key is used to decrypt it. Users can also secure the private key and establish a certificate authority (CA) in the process.
Put plainly, hardware security modules are used to establish complete and total network security for organizations of all sizes.
The primary users of HSMs are organizations that need to protect sensitive data. This could include a software developer that wants to encrypt files and applications, a bank that needs to secure mobile payments, or a government organization that must protect personally identifiable information (PII) for private citizens. So, if your organization needs to protect sensitive data, then it may be a good idea to consider using a hardware security module.
Many organizations deploy physical hardware security modules on-premises, but it is becoming more common to deploy HSMs through a cloud service. Cloud HSMs are based on their physical counterparts, and offer the same levels of functionality and compliance. Cloud HSMs are often deployed and managed from a single web interface, which helps reduce the costs associated with deploying HSMs. They also help streamline cryptographic infrastructure overall. Cloud HSMs are ideal for large enterprise needing to streamline and centralize infrastructure, as well as small-to-medium organizations that want to deploy cryptography for the first time.
For over 40 years, Futurex has been a trusted provider of hardened, enterprise data security solutions for more than 15,000 organizations worldwide. Customers choose Futurex for our best-in-class technology solutions and our exceptional customer support.
Futurex hardware security modules protect your organization’s most sensitive data with strong encryption, tamper resistance, and logical security. All Futurex HSMs are FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and PCI HSM-validated, support vendor-neutral APIs, and include the RESTful web API. This is why Futurex has led innovation among HSM providers for 40+ years.
Yes, absolutely. You can request a free demo for yourself or your organization here.
