get_encryption

Derive encryption state from TEE public key using ECDH

Derive encryption state from a TEE public key using ECDH key exchange.

Overview

get_encryption() performs ECDH key exchange between a client private key and the TEE's public key to derive a shared AES-GCM key. It returns an EncryptionState object containing the AES key, client public key, and client private key.

This is a pure computation function with no I/O - it works in both sync and async contexts.

Signature

def get_encryption(
    network_pk: CompressedPublicKey,
    client_sk: PrivateKey | None = None,
) -> EncryptionState

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
network_pk	CompressedPublicKey	Yes	The TEE's 33-byte compressed secp256k1 public key
client_sk	PrivateKey	No	Optional 32-byte client private key. If None, a random ephemeral key is generated

Returns

Type	Description
EncryptionState	Fully initialized encryption state with AES key and keypair

Examples

Basic Usage

from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, PrivateKey, CompressedPublicKey

# Get TEE public key (from node)
tee_pk = CompressedPublicKey("0x02abcd...")

# Derive encryption state (random ephemeral key)
encryption = get_encryption(tee_pk)

print(f"AES key: {encryption.aes_key.to_0x_hex()}")
print(f"Client pubkey: {encryption.encryption_pubkey.to_0x_hex()}")

With Custom Client Key

import os
from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, PrivateKey, CompressedPublicKey

tee_pk = CompressedPublicKey("0x02abcd...")

# Use a deterministic client key
client_sk = PrivateKey.from_hex_str(os.environ["CLIENT_KEY"])

encryption = get_encryption(tee_pk, client_sk)

In Client Factory

import os
from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, get_tee_public_key, PrivateKey
from web3 import Web3

# This is what create_wallet_client() does internally
w3 = Web3(Web3.HTTPProvider("https://testnet-1.seismictest.net/rpc"))

# Step 1: Fetch TEE public key
network_pk = get_tee_public_key(w3)

# Step 2: Derive encryption state
signing_key = PrivateKey.from_hex_str(os.environ["PRIVATE_KEY"])
encryption = get_encryption(network_pk, client_sk=None)  # Random ephemeral key

# Step 3: Attach to client
# w3.seismic = SeismicNamespace(w3, encryption, signing_key)

Random Ephemeral Key

from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, CompressedPublicKey

tee_pk = CompressedPublicKey("0x02abcd...")

# Each call generates a new random key
encryption1 = get_encryption(tee_pk)
encryption2 = get_encryption(tee_pk)

# Different keys
assert encryption1.encryption_private_key != encryption2.encryption_private_key
assert encryption1.aes_key != encryption2.aes_key

Verify Key Derivation

import os
from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, PrivateKey, CompressedPublicKey
from seismic_web3.crypto.secp import private_key_to_compressed_public_key

tee_pk = CompressedPublicKey("0x02abcd...")
client_sk = PrivateKey.from_hex_str(os.environ["CLIENT_KEY"])

encryption = get_encryption(tee_pk, client_sk)

# Verify public key derivation
expected_pubkey = private_key_to_compressed_public_key(client_sk)
assert encryption.encryption_pubkey == expected_pubkey

# Verify keys are stored correctly
assert encryption.encryption_private_key == client_sk

How It Works

The function performs three steps:

1. Generate client key if needed

   if client_sk is None:
       client_sk = PrivateKey(os.urandom(32))

2. Derive AES key via ECDH + HKDF

   aes_key = generate_aes_key(client_sk, network_pk)

   This performs:

   • ECDH: Compute shared secret from client_sk and network_pk

   • HKDF: Derive 32-byte AES key from shared secret

3. Derive client public key

   client_pubkey = private_key_to_compressed_public_key(client_sk)

4. Return EncryptionState

   return EncryptionState(
       aes_key=aes_key,
       encryption_pubkey=client_pubkey,
       encryption_private_key=client_sk,
   )

ECDH Key Exchange

The ECDH key exchange works as follows:

Client has:     client_sk (private), client_pk (public)
TEE has:        tee_sk (private), tee_pk (public)

Client computes:  shared_secret = ECDH(client_sk, tee_pk)
TEE computes:     shared_secret = ECDH(tee_sk, client_pk)

Both derive:      aes_key = HKDF(shared_secret)

The client sends client_pk in the transaction's SeismicElements, allowing the TEE to derive the same AES key and decrypt the calldata.

Random vs Deterministic Keys

Key Type	Pros	Cons
Random ephemeral	No key management needed, fresh key per session	Cannot recreate encryption state, no key persistence
Deterministic	Can recreate same state, key persistence, backup via mnemonic	Requires secure key storage, key management complexity

The SDK defaults to random ephemeral keys for simplicity. Use deterministic keys only if you need to recreate the same encryption state across sessions.

Notes

• Pure computation - no RPC calls or I/O

• Works in both sync and async contexts

• If client_sk is None, generates a cryptographically secure random key via os.urandom(32)

• The AES key is derived using ECDH + HKDF (NIST SP 800-56C)

• Called automatically by create_wallet_client() and create_async_wallet_client()

• You rarely need to call this directly unless implementing custom client logic

Security Considerations

• Random key generation - Uses os.urandom() which is cryptographically secure on all platforms

• Forward secrecy - Each encryption session can use a different ephemeral key

• Key storage - If using deterministic keys, store client_sk securely (encrypted at rest, never logged)

• ECDH security - Based on secp256k1 elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem

• HKDF - Uses SHA-256 for key derivation

Common Patterns

Ephemeral Session Keys

from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, CompressedPublicKey

# New random key for each session (recommended)
def create_session_encryption(tee_pk: CompressedPublicKey):
    return get_encryption(tee_pk)  # Random key

Persistent Keys

from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, PrivateKey, CompressedPublicKey
import os

# Load persisted key from secure storage
def load_encryption(tee_pk: CompressedPublicKey):
    client_sk = PrivateKey.from_hex_str(os.environ["ENCRYPTION_KEY"])
    return get_encryption(tee_pk, client_sk)

Rotate Keys

from seismic_web3 import get_encryption, PrivateKey, CompressedPublicKey

# Rotate to a new key periodically
def rotate_encryption_key(tee_pk: CompressedPublicKey):
    new_client_sk = PrivateKey(os.urandom(32))
    return get_encryption(tee_pk, new_client_sk)

See Also

• EncryptionState - Returned encryption state class

• create_wallet_client - Sync client factory (calls get_encryption)

• create_async_wallet_client - Async client factory

• PrivateKey - Client private key type

• CompressedPublicKey - TEE public key type

• Shielded Write Guide - How encryption is used in transactions