Provisioning a Key in an Air-Gapped Environment

Provisioning a key in an air-gapped environment demands precision. There is no handshake with a server. No internet-driven automation. Every byte must be generated, stored, and transferred with intent. The process starts offline, using a trusted machine to create the key material. That machine must have no external connections. Strong entropy sources are vital—hardware RNGs or offline crypto libraries—ensuring the key cannot be guessed or reproduced.

Once generated, the provisioning key should be stored in a secure hardware device, such as an HSM or USB token approved for offline use. Transport occurs physically, with strict chain-of-custody protocols. Every movement is logged. Every handler is verified. This is not optional—integrity fails if documentation does.

Verification happens on the target air-gapped system. The key is imported via a controlled interface: a write-once medium, encrypted payloads, and authenticated loaders. Code that processes the key must be minimal, audited, and free of any unused paths that can be exploited. Even in isolation, software supply chain attacks remain a threat.

Rotation and revocation are integral parts of air-gapped key management. Keys must expire on schedule and be replaced through the same secure provisioning pipeline. Old keys are wiped using hardware-level deletion, not just filesystem commands.

Provisioning a key in an air-gapped setup is about total control. No remote dependencies. No uncontrolled inputs. No trust in unverified channels. The reward: secrets that remain secrets.

Watch how hoop.dev provisions secure keys into isolated environments and see it live in minutes.