What are the artifactory.key & master.key and what are they used for?

What are the artifactory.key & master.key and what are they used for?

AuthorFullName__c
Ariel Kabov
articleNumber
000004521
ft:sourceType
Salesforce
FirstPublishedDate
2019-08-11T06:36:47Z
lastModifiedDate
2019-08-11
VersionNumber
4
Relevant Versions: Artifactory 6.
The information mentioned in this article is not relevant for previous Artifactory versions.

Located at $ARTIFACTORY_HOME/etc/security, we have 2 important .key files.
This article is to describe what they are used for, and their importance.

General recommendation: Always back up both of the keys in order to ensure an easy roll-back strategy in case of an emergency.