> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cifer.gitbook.io/cifer-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cifer.gitbook.io/cifer-docs/documentation/cifer-sdk/architecture-and-security.md).

# Architecture and security

Cifer separates authorization, public-key discovery, and protected cryptographic execution.

## Core components

| Component             | Responsibility                                                                              |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **SecretsController** | On-chain ownership, delegates, secret state, fees, and events                               |
| **Blackbox**          | Payload encryption/decryption, public-key access, and asynchronous file jobs                |
| **Enclave cluster**   | Threshold key generation and protected private-key shard handling                           |
| **IPFS**              | Distribution of secret public keys                                                          |
| **Cifer SDK**         | Discovery, signing, transaction construction, retries, encoding, and typed integration APIs |

## Hybrid encryption

Cifer combines ML-KEM-768 with AES-256-GCM. ML-KEM establishes the shared secret; AES-GCM encrypts the application payload efficiently.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    P[Plaintext] --> A[AES-256-GCM]
    K[ML-KEM-768 public key] --> E[Encapsulation]
    E --> A
    A --> O[Encrypted message]
    E --> C[Cifer envelope]
```

## Security boundaries

* Cifer is **quantum-resistant**, not “quantum-proof.”
* Authorization and key custody are different concerns.
* Signed requests include freshness data to reduce replay risk.
* Private application secrets and identity keys must still be protected by the integrator.
* The SDK does not replace secure software delivery, endpoint security, or operational monitoring.
* Pin releases and test upgrades while the SDK remains beta.


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