MASTER KEY ESCROW PROCESS

Methods, computer readable media, and devices for escrow of master keys and recovery of previously escrowed master keys may be disclosed. A method for escrow of master keys may include registering a root certificate authority (CA) within each of two first-party hardware security modules (HSMs), initializing each of three third-party HSMs as master escrow recovery devices, performing a bootstrap operation on an authoritative blockchain to generate three master keys, generating a first set of master key shard ciphertexts using a first one of the three master escrow recovery devices, a second set using a second one of the three master escrow recovery devices, and a third set using a third one of the three master escrow recovery devices, and storing the first, the second, and the third set of master key shard ciphertexts as opaque objects in each of the two first-party HSMs.