# What compliance risk does encryption key escrow create, and why doesn't Cyber Crucible do it?

**Short answer:** Storing encryption keys centrally creates a single point of failure, a high-value target, and exposure to compelled disclosure. Cyber Crucible's prevention approach doesn't depend on capturing or escrowing keys, so there is no central key store to secure, subpoena, or breach.

> For the direct product answer, see the existing article **"Does Cyber Crucible collect encryption keys?"** This page covers the compliance and data-sovereignty reasoning behind that answer.

## Why this is deliberate

Cyber Crucible originally developed and patented key-capture technology for ransomware defense. By 2021, ransomware strains had evolved to defeat it — using custom encryption libraries, unique per-execution implementations, and streaming ciphers immune to key capture. We presented that cryptanalysis publicly at BSides Pittsburgh in 2021.

## The risk we chose not to create

Beyond no longer working, key capture requires centralized storage of encryption keys. That introduces a single point of failure, a high-value target, and the possibility of compelled disclosure without customer knowledge.

Preventing the attack before encryption begins removes the need for keys entirely — which is both a stronger defense and a smaller compliance surface.