Question 1

How do I use the Secure Enclave for signing data in my iOS app?

Accepted Answer

SecureEnclaveCrypto provides sample code in Swift and Objective-C that demonstrates creating a keypair with the private key in the Secure Enclave and signing strings or data. You'll need to integrate the methods from the provided directories and manage public key storage in the iOS keychain.

Question 2

Is SecureEnclaveCrypto or Apple's native Keychain better for secure storage?

Accepted Answer

SecureEnclaveCrypto is specifically for hardware-backed key storage in the Secure Enclave, which is more secure against malware than the standard Keychain. However, for simpler storage needs without hardware isolation, Apple's Keychain might be sufficient and easier to implement.

Question 3

How to convert a Secure Enclave public key to OpenSSL format?

Accepted Answer

Use the included Ruby script key_builder.rb, which takes the hex representation of the public key as input and outputs an OpenSSL-compatible PEM file, as shown in the README example with secp256r1/prime256v1 compatibility.

Question 4

Can I use SecureEnclaveCrypto in a production iOS application?

Accepted Answer

While it demonstrates best practices, it's a proof-of-concept library, so you should thoroughly review, test, and potentially adapt the code for production. It may not have been extensively validated or updated for recent iOS versions.

Question 5

What are the limitations of Apple's Secure Enclave API for developers?

Accepted Answer

Keys are device-specific and cannot be exported, limiting backup and recovery options. SecureEnclaveCrypto helps implement this, but you must design around these constraints, such as using key derivation or cloud key vaults for portability.

Question 6

How to update the Swift code for Swift 5 or later?

Accepted Answer

You'll need to manually migrate the Swift 3 code, as the library doesn't provide updated versions. Refer to Apple's Swift migration guides and update API calls, syntax, and dependencies to ensure compatibility with modern iOS development.

SecureEnclaveCrypto

What is SecureEnclaveCrypto?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Related Projects

Found a gem we're missing?

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions