High level encryption or cryptography is used in a number of applications ranging from those which impact national security to those which are more mundane. Essentially, cryptography is the methodology of encoding information so that one’s privacy is ensured. This is particularly important when it comes to transactions which occur over the Internet. The risk of individuals gaining access to personal information or information which is critical to a country or a nation over the Internet is a very real one. The practice of cryptography lessens the likelihood of this happening.
Part A -- Identification and Description of the Issue
A greater and greater percentage of the world population is gaining access to the Internet and incorporating that access into their daily lives. More and more business transactions and personal transactions are occurring on the Internet. There is no questioning the fact that both the growth of the Internet and the number of sensitive transactions which occur on it are exponential.
In order to ensure the safety of Internet transactions, whether public or private, methodologies must be identified to safely and effectively encrypt information. Two methodologies are particularly associated with the issue of Internet security and deserve both an explanation and a contrast. These two methods are TCP/IP and cryptography. While the TCP/IP protocol was an initial first attempt at data security and integrity, it is insufficient. TCP/IP was not really designed as a security provision and is insufficient to meet the criteria which are necessary to ensure safe transactions (Computer Reseller News PG).
Part B ---Understanding of Information Technology Background of Issue
Examples of the criteria which must be met to ensure the protection of information which is transmitted over the Internet include:
1. The authentication of users.
2. The economical provision of single-user login services.
3. The provision of one security scheme which works both from within the user’s firewall and from outside that firewall.
4. The protection of the privacy and integrity of both real-time and store-and-forward applications such as e-mail.
(Computer Reseller News PG).
Part C -- Analysis of Impact of Issue
The impacts of in...
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...uter Reseller News PG). This is accomplished by assigning each user both a private and a public key (Computer Reseller News PG). While the public key is published so that all can access it and use it to send information to its owner, the private key is kept secret and used by the receiver to decrypt the information which was sent (Computer Reseller News PG).
The utilization of cryptography is superior to dependence on TCP/IP in that while information can still be intercepted by unauthorized personnel, it is less likely to be decrypted due to the elaborate cryptographic scheme. Unlike cryptography, TCP/IP messages are commonly intercepted using sniffer packets. Once intercepted they are immediately apparent in their content and no decryption is involved.
Sources Cited
Anonymous. Introduction to Cryptology. http://www.cs.brown.edu/. 2002.
Computer Reseller News. Cryptography Is The Key To Intranet Security Needs, Computer Reseller News, 30 Jun 1999.
M2 Press Wire. Hewlett-Packard: HP to make electronic world safe for Internet business, M2 PressWIRE, 2 Mar 2000.
Menefee, Craig. US Encryption Policy Stagnating Says Pioneer Diffie, Newsbytes News Network, 10 Oct 2001.
RSA encryption is the foundation of public key cryptography security products. For example, credit card companies use the RSA algorithm for customers’ individual online WebPages. The credit card companies publish a big number on WebPages, which is made by big prime numbers using the RSA algorithm. Since neither computers nor people can factor such big numbers, the RSA encryption system has secured many customers’ information.
The Internet, originally arising from the American military, has grown to a main source of communication for millions around the world and has helped in creating a global village. The Internet started gaining fast acceptance in the 1990's especially in North America. Countries such as China however, still have limited access and control over the contents on the internet allowed ...
In this process of end to end encryption, the unauthorized users such as service provider or any intermediate person can’t decrypt or read the communication between the sender and receiver. In the present day, Service Providers have access to our communication but when we deploy the end to end encryption then the service provider can intercept the communication but can’t read the content of our communication and the common example is WhatsApp messaging service. We can also secure our emails by using PGP encryption technology.
TOR (Roger Dingledine) is a circuit based low-latency anonymous communication service. TOR is now in its second generation and was developed from the Onion routing program. The routing system can run on several operating systems and protect the anonymity of the user. The latest TOR version supports perfect forward secrecy, congestion control, directory servers, integrity checking and configurable exit policies. Tor is essentially a distributed overlay network which works on the application layer of the TCP protocol. It essentially anonymizes all TCP-based applications like web-browsing, SSH, instant messaging. Using TOR can protect against common form of Internet surveillance known as “traffic analysis” (Electronic Frontier Foundation). Knowing the source and destination of your internet traffic allows others to track your behavior and interests. An IP packet has a header and a dat...
The computer is considered one of the most important technological advances of the twentieth century. Security and privacy issues have been in existence long before the computer became a vital component of organizations' operations. Nevertheless, the operating features of a computer make it a double-edged sword. Computer technologies with reliable error detection and recording capabilities, permit the invasion of a supposedly secure environment to occur on a grand scale and go undetected. Furthermore, computer and communications technology permit the invasion of a persons' privacy and likewise go undetected. Two forces threaten privacy: one, the growth of information technology with its enhanced capacity for surveillance, communication, computation, storage and retrieval and two, the more insidious threat, the increased value of information in decision making. Information has become more vital in the competitive environment, thus, decision makers covet it even if it viol!
...tal part of lives just like privacy. Using cryptology provides mechanisms through a digital signature. This signature is inserted using a key (that only the writer of the email possesses) whilst a timestamp binds itself to the document. This type of cryptography is used to control access of security installations or pay-per-view television channels.
One of the largest parts of commerce is transaction. Transactions are needed anytime two parties exchange money or information. Since the Information Age has begun, transactions are more common over the Internet, where it is more imperative that transactions are secure (Klein x). Corporations have also become more widespread, which means that cryptography is needed to secu...
If encryption were not available, electronic commerce as we know it today would not be safe or possible. Identity theft and credit card fraud would be ubiquitous and would make online business transactions impossible. Encryption protects personal privacy and allows us to continue to take advantage of the many benefits that computers and networking technologies offer. However, encryption can also present a threat to public safety when used by criminal elements to plan crimes or, worse, terrorist
For thousands of years cryptography and encryption have been used to secure communication. Military communication has been the leader of the use of cryptography and the advancements. From the start of the internet there has been a greater need for the use of cryptography. The computer had been invented in the late 1960s but there was not a widespread market for the use of computers really until the late 1980s, where the World Wide Web was invented in 1989. This new method of communication has called for a large need for information security. The internet allows people to communicate sensitive information, and if received into the wrong hands can cause many problems for that person.
As can be seen, from the information presented, the need for laws and restrictions concerning internet data collection is greatly needed. Moreover, the government can search private citizens data without warrant or cause. Also, companies are not only collecting internet user data but also selling it. The companies and agencies who commit such crimes should be fined or either closed down. In closing, the privacy and security of individuals on the internet should be upheld by the United States government.
In this era when the Internet provides essential communication between tens of millions of people and is being increasingly used as a tool for security becomes a tremendously important issue to deal with, So it is important to deal with it. There are many aspects to security and many applications, ranging from secure commerce and payments to private communications and protecting passwords. One essential aspect for secure communications is that of cryptography. But it is important to note that while cryptography is necessary for secure communications, it is not by itself sufficient. Cryptography is the science of writing in secret code and is an ancient art; In the old age people use to send encoded message which can be understand by the receiver only who know the symbolic and relative meaning of that encoded message .The first documented use of cryptography in writing dates back to circa 1900 B.C. Egyptian scribe used non-standard hieroglyphs in an inscription. After writing was invented cryptography appeared spontaneously with applications ranging from diplomatic missives to war-time battle plans. It is no surprise, then, that new forms of cryptography came soon after the widespread development of computer communications. In telecommunications and data cryptography is necessary when communicating in any untrusted medium, which includes any network, particularly the Internet [1].Within the context of any application-to-application communication, there are some security requirements, including:
The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
Today, society is affected by the many advances in technology. These advances affect almost every person in the world. One of the prevalent advances in technology was the invention and mass use of the Internet. Today more than ever, people around the world use the Internet to support their personal and business tasks on a daily basis. The Internet is a portal into vast amounts of information concerning almost every aspect of life including education, business, politics, entertainment, social networking, and world security. (idebate.com) Although the Internet has become a key resource in developing the world, the mass use of Internet has highlighted a major problem, privacy and the protection of individual, corporate, and even government security . The argument over whether or not the Internet should be controlled by the government has developed into a controversial issue in almost every country in the world.
The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The Internet enables communication and transmission of data between computers at different locations. The Internet is a computer application that connects tens of thousands of interconnected computer networks that include 1.7 million host computers around the world. The basis of connecting all these computers together is by the use of ordinary telephone wires. Users are then directly joined to other computer users at there own will for a small connection fee per month. The connection conveniently includes unlimited access to over a million web sites twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There are many reasons why the Internet is important these reasons include: The net adapts to damage and error, data travels at 2/3 the speed of light on copper and fiber, the internet provides the same functionality to everyone, the net is the fastest growing technology ever, the net promotes freedom of speech, the net is digital, and can correct errors. Connecting to the Internet cost the taxpayer little or nothing, since each node was independent, and had to handle its own financing and its own technical requirements.
Internet technology is accelerating the rate of globalization. Email, in particular, is now one of the fastest ways for us to communicate with each other, and to do business, making our world much smaller and more immediate. This same technology that can enhance our lives and accelerates the pace of global change can also destroy our personal privacy at the same rate.