What is Two-Person Integrity?
A security principle requiring two authorized people to complete a critical action, preventing any single person from causing harm.
Also known as: Two-Person Rule, Dual Control
Two-person integrity ensures no single individual has enough access to compromise a critical system.
Applications
- Nuclear launch: Two officers must turn keys simultaneously
- Key ceremonies: Certificate Authority root key generation requires multiple participants
- Cryptocurrency custody: Multi-signature wallets requiring multiple approvals
- Financial transactions: Dual authorization above certain amounts
Digital Implementation
- Multi-sig wallets: 2-of-3 or 3-of-5 signature requirements
- Shamir's Secret Sharing: Split the key among multiple parties
- Hardware Security Modules: Require multiple smart cards for key operations
Privacy Application
For high-value secrets (master encryption keys, cryptocurrency), two-person integrity prevents any single point of compromise — including coercion of a single individual.
Related Terms
Operational Security
The practice of protecting sensitive information by thinking like an adversary to identify vulnerabilities in your own behavior and communications. OPSEC goes beyond technical tools to address human factors that could expose you.
Shamir's Secret Sharing
A cryptographic method for splitting a secret into multiple parts so that a defined threshold of parts are needed to reconstruct it.
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