Free HSM equipment to help prepare for SWIFTNet Phase 2
Posted 15 June 2006
One of the commercial actions agreed by the
SWIFT Board meeting in June is to equip the whole SWIFT community with free Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). With this initiative, all users will be able to benefit from the latest technology and security improvement introduced by SWIFTNet Phase 2.
Each connection owner, including Service Bureaux, who needs to install this new security equipment, will be entitled to free HSMs. Customers connecting via a Service Bureau, a regional hub or a member concentrator will use the HSM of the connection owner and therefore do not need, and will not be entitled to, free HSM equipment.
Customers will receive the HSM equipment that typically corresponds to their local situation. They will be informed in the coming months about their individual entitlement and they will be asked to confirm this before mid-December 2006. As a baseline, customers can use the following rules to assess what they will get:
- if they are using a Windows system, running one live BIC8, and connectivity pack 1 or 2, they will be entitled to one USB HSM set. They can choose between a set of HSM tokens and a set of HSM card readers and smart cards.
- others will be entitled to HSM boxes: a pair of HSM boxes for the prime connection and one HSM box for each additional connection.
SWIFT will ship the HSMs and associated SWIFTNet Phase 2 software three months before the customer’s C1 Infrastructure Upgrade deadline – the date at which they have to be live using PKI and HSM. If desired, it will be possible to advance this shipment date. When SWIFT ships the HSMs, it will also pay for the transport and local duties and taxes.
For HSM boxes received as part of the entitlement, maintenance is still applicable and the standard maintenance charges will start three months after shipment. For USB-based HSMs, no maintenance is due.
Extra equipment beyond the entitlement can be ordered at standard prices.
For handheld users (SWIFT’s top and most complex users), the entitlement will be determined by the number of connections, the number of certificates, the number of active SWIFTNet Links, and the throughput. These customers will be informed individually on their HSM entitlement.
If in the meantime customers want to know more about HSMs and what they typically will require, they should consult the HSM online Configurator.