Visual Basic 6.0

Export an Encrypted PKCS #8 Private Key as PEM

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.GetPkcs8EncryptedPem method, which exports the key as password-protected PKCS #8 PEM (-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----). The only argument is the password; the cipher is selected by the Pkcs8EncryptAlg property.

Note: The file paths are relative to the application's current working directory. Absolute paths may also be used. Supply the paths appropriate to your own environment.

Background: This is the safe way to export a key for storage or transfer — the private material is encrypted under a passphrase, so a leaked file is not immediately usable. It is the format to reach for whenever a key leaves your process. Control the encryption cipher with Pkcs8EncryptAlg, and source the password securely rather than hard-coding it.

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Visual Basic 6.0

Dim success As Long
success = 0

'  Load a private key to export.
Dim privKey As New PrivateKey
success = privKey.LoadPemFile("qa_data/private.pem")
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print privKey.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

'  The key password is not hard-coded in a real application; obtain it from an interactive
'  prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
Dim password As String
password = "myKeyPassword"

'  Export as password-protected PKCS #8 PEM ("-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----").  The
'  encryption cipher is selected by the Pkcs8EncryptAlg property.
Dim pem As String
pem = privKey.GetPkcs8EncryptedPem(password)
If (privKey.LastMethodSuccess = 0) Then
    Debug.Print privKey.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

Debug.Print pem