If you use external files to store crypto keys, passwords, and data make certain that you use secure operating system files to do it.
If you use a database to store crypto data, be sure to secure any keys or passwords that you store in the database separately from the data that you have encrypted.
Caution: Never encrypt a password required to access encrypted data using the same password-based encryption (PBE) key used to encrypt the data. Always manage the password separately from the data that you intend to encrypt with it, and always manage the password separately from any salt that you combine with the password to generate the PBE key.
