ISC2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) Practice Question

Non-repudiation hinges on the signer being the only entity that ever possesses the private signing key. If the organization escrows or otherwise stores copies of private signature keys so that a recovery agent can access them, multiple parties could generate identical signatures, destroying the ability to prove who actually signed the code. Generating keys in certified HSMs, enforcing periodic key regeneration, and protecting the root CA's private key with dual control all strengthen security without undermining non-repudiation. Therefore, prohibiting escrow of private signing keys is essential.