Glossary

Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data — a symmetric cipher mode with built-in data authentication (AES-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305, Kuznyechik-MGM). See Section B.3.2.

Attestation of Compliance — the final public declaration of compliance with the standard. Template in Annex 5.

The organization undergoing a CCSA assessment. The single normative term, mandatory across normative sections, the ROC and the AOC.

A background check on a person before granting access to CCM. See Section B.8.1.

A valid certificate against one of the baseline standards (PCI DSS, ГОСТ 57580, CCSS, SOC 2 Type 2, MiCA), usable for carry-over into CCSA. See Section A.

A program rewarding external researchers for discovering and responsibly disclosing vulnerabilities.

The procedure by which a CCSA requirement may be deemed satisfied (In Place) given a valid baseline certificate. Carry-over never applies to Critical Requirements. See Section A.

Critical Cryptographic Material — the standard’s core term. Data whose compromise grants direct or derived control over crypto-assets. Definition and categories in Section B.1.1.

Crypto Custody & Security Assurance — this standard.

CCSA Company — an audit firm accredited by the Council to perform CCSA assessments.

The senior tier of individual CCSA certification; grants the right to sign the ROC and AOC.

The entry tier of individual CCSA certification; allows participation in audits within a CCSAC but not signing the ROC/AOC.

Qualified Security Assessor — an individual auditor certified by the Council; the middle tier between Practitioner and Lead Auditor.

CryptoCurrency Security Standard — the C4 industry standard for cryptographic key management.

Cardholder Data Environment — the PCI DSS term for the payment-card data environment. The CCSA CME is its conceptual analog.

Cryptographic Material Environment — the boundary of the environment in which CCM is processed. See Section B.1.2.

Storage of CCM without permanent online connectivity. See Section B.3.3.

An alternative protective measure used when neither the defined requirement nor the Customized Approach can be met. See Section 0.8.

The organization that publishes, maintains and interprets the CCSA standard. See Sections 0.1 and 0.13.1.

A requirement marked critical: the Customized Approach is forbidden; for fully-forbidden CC (B.1.1, B.1.2, B.5.2, B.7.3) any Compensating Control is forbidden; for restricted CC (B.2.1, B.3.1, B.4.1, B.8.1) a CC is allowed at Level 1 only with the Council Chief QA Officer’s approval. Full list in Section D.2.5.

A wallet in which private keys are held under the provider’s control. Segment C.1.

An end user of the Assessed Entity, or a party relying on the CCSA certification (a regulator, insurer or LVCS buyer). See Section 0.13.5.

An alternative compliance path: any implementation provably meeting the Customized Approach Objective. Modeled on PCI DSS v4.0. See Section 0.7.2.

The statement of the objective that must be achieved when using the Customized Approach.

The standard compliance path: implementation as stated in the Defined Approach Requirement, verified via the Defined Approach Testing Procedures. See Section 0.7.2.

The formal normative statement of a requirement (what must be implemented).

The numbered verification steps (Examine, Interview, Observe, Trace) carried out by the CCSA-QSA. See Section 0.7.2.

Demonstrating Proof of Possession (IETF RFC 9449) — a proof-of-possession mechanism for session tokens. See Section B.4.3.

The principle that an operation requires the joint action of two or more people. See Section B.4.2.

The NIST standard for cryptographic modules. See Annex 2.

A wallet with permanent online connectivity. Low physical protection, high operational availability.

Hardware Security Module — a secured hardware device for generating, storing and using cryptographic keys. See Section B.3.1.

Assessment status: the requirement is fully implemented via the Defined Approach; all Testing Procedures pass with no findings. See Section 0.7.1.

Assessment status: the requirement is implemented via the Customized Approach; the Customized Approach Objective is achieved and auditor-verified. See Section 0.7.1.

A formal procedure to generate, split, activate or destroy CCM, recording roles, steps, verification and video (for L2+). See Section B.2.3.

Listed Validated Crypto Solutions — the Council’s public registry of certified products and platforms. Listing requires CCSA certification.

Master Encryption Key — the root key protecting other keys via a cryptographic key hierarchy. CCM Category A.

Multi-Party Computation — a technique that splits a private key into shares across parties, enabling joint use without ever reconstructing the whole key in one place.

A signing scheme requiring m-of-n signatures. See Section B.6.1.

A wallet in which the user has sole control of the private keys. Segment C.2.

Assessment status: the requirement does not apply to this Assessed Entity per the Applicability Notes and segment matrix. See Section 0.7.1.

Assessment status: the requirement is not implemented, or implemented with critical gaps. See Section 0.7.1.

Recorded or occurring off the blockchain.

The procedure for revoking access on departure. See Section B.8.4.

Recorded or occurring on the blockchain.

The procedure for granting access to a new employee. See Section B.8.3.

Privileged Access Management — centralized control of privileged accounts and sessions. See Section B.4.5.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — the primary baseline for CCSA. See Section A.1.

Personally Identifiable Information — data identifying a person. Protected separately under ФЗ-152 / GDPR. Not part of CCM.

Post-Quantum Cryptography — cryptography resistant to quantum-computer attacks; NIST standards ML-KEM (FIPS 203), ML-DSA (FIPS 204), SLH-DSA (FIPS 205). See Annex 2 A2.3.

A secret cryptographic key used to sign transactions. CCM Category A.

The public half of a key pair. Not part of CCM.

The Council’s program for assuring the quality of ROCs issued by CCSACs; includes peer review, sampling and sanctions. See Section 0.13.1.

The procedure to recover CCM after loss or compromise. See Section B.5.3.

Immediate termination of CCM validity on confirmed or suspected compromise. See Section B.5.2.

Report on Compliance — the detailed compliance report produced by the CCSA-QSA. Template in Annex 3.

Periodic replacement of CCM with new material. See Section B.5.1.

Recovery Point Objective — the maximum tolerable data-loss window. See Section B.5.3.

Recovery Time Objective — the maximum tolerable recovery time.

Self-Assessment Questionnaire. See Annex 4.

A word sequence (BIP-39) representing master entropy for deriving private keys. CCM Category A.

Separation of duties. See Section B.8.2.

A temporary credential granting operational access to a custodial wallet on a user’s behalf. CCM Category D.

A scheme that splits a secret across n parties, recoverable from a k-of-n threshold. Used for key backups and MPC shares.

Security Information and Event Management — centralized handling of security events. See Section B.7.1.

Trusted Execution Environment — an isolated hardware execution environment. See Sections B.3.1 and B.4.1.

A scheme requiring joint signing by a k-of-n threshold of parties.

A delay imposed on an operation as a protective window. See Section B.6.4.

The AICPA criteria for SOC 2 (Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, Privacy). See Section A.4.

Virtual Asset Service Provider — a FATF term used in MiCA and national crypto regulation.

A monitoring wallet holding only public keys, with no ability to sign. See Section B.6.2.

A certified professional who performs a CCSA assessment. See CCSA-QSA, CCSA Lead Auditor.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

A series of Russian information-security standards for financial organizations. See Section A.2.

Cryptographic information-protection tools, certified by the FSB of Russia. See Annex 2 A2.2.

The Bank of Russia’s computer-incident response center for the credit and financial sphere.

The Russian Federal Service for Technical and Export Control.