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We were using the "RSA Protected Configuration provider" to encrypt sensitive information in our config files. More info about this on MSDN at - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998283.aspx.

In the generated config file there is a triple-DES encrypted key. So that means the config section is actually encrypted/decrypted using this symmetric key.

But this symmetric DES key is actually encrypted/decrypted using the RSA private/public key in the RSA key container. The question I have is whether the public/private RSA keys in the container are also encrypted? If yes, then where is the key for that stored?

If the keys in the container are not encrypted, then why do we need to export the keys to a XML file and them import them in another machine? Why not just copy-paste the RSA container key to all nodes in a web cluster/farm?

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They are encrypted using DPAPI.

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