When people talk about cryptography, they usually talk about algorithms. RSA versus ECC. Classical versus post quantum. Encryption strength measured in bits and curves. In practice, none of that matters unless keys are created, stored, rotated and retired correctly. Key management is the discipline that governs the entire lifecycle of cryptographic keys, from generation to destruction. It determines who can use a key, for what purpose, for how long and under what conditions. When done well, key management enables confidentiality, integrity, authentication and nonrepudiation across systems. When done poorly, it silently undermines every security control built on top of it. The benefits of str...