System and method supporting data residency requirement in cloud hosted hardware security modules

A system supportive of data residency requirements, comprising:

• a Hardware Security Module (HSM) hosted on a cloud environment and a location tracker embedded within or directly connected to the HSM to provide an HSM location, the HSM comprising one or more processors and memory coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the memory includes computer instructions which when executed by the one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the operations of:
• receiving a request for access to information associated with a cryptographic operation using a key over a network;
• obtaining authorized location information where the HSM is authorized to process the request by:
• retrieving, from a secure element associated the HSM, a signed configuration file comprising a set of IP addresses each associated with authorized location information,
• configuring the HSM with an IP address from the set only if the HSM location is within the authorized location information associated with the IP address, and
• receiving or generating the key with location constraints derived from the authorized location information associated with the configured IP address;
• comparing the HSM location with the authorized location information including comparing the HSM location with the authorized location information associated with the configured IP address and with the location constraints of the key;
• processing the request for access by performing the cryptographic operation using the key only if the HSM location is within the authorized location information and within the location constraints of the key responsive to comparing;
• and
• rejecting the request including rejecting the cryptographic operation using the key if the HSM location is not within the authorized location information or not within the location constraints of the key,
• wherein the location tracker embedded within or directly connected to the HSM is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) module.