Cryptography for dummies

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Title:

Personal Author:

Cobb, Chey

Series:

--For dummies

Publication Information:

Indianapolis, Ind. : Wiley Pubs, 2004

ISBN:

9780764541889

Subject Term:

Telecommunication -- Security measures -- Popular works

Data encryption (Computer science) -- Popular works

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010070369	TK5102.94 C62 2004	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown
Searching... SPACE KL Main Library	30000010076878	QA76.9 .M35 C37 2004	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown

Cryptography is the most effective way to achieve data security and is essential to e-commerce activities such as online shopping, stock trading, and banking This invaluable introduction to the basics of encryption covers everything from the terminology used in the field to specific technologies to the pros and cons of different implementations Discusses specific technologies that incorporate cryptography in their design, such as authentication methods, wireless encryption, e-commerce, and smart cards Based entirely on real-world issues and situations, the material provides instructions for already available technologies that readers can put to work immediately Expert author Chey Cobb is retired from the NRO, where she held a Top Secret security clearance, instructed employees of the CIA and NSA on computer security and helped develop the computer security policies used by all U.S. intelligence agencies

Author Notes

Chey Cobb, CISSP, was Chief Security Officer for a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) overseas location. She is a nationally recognized computer security expert

Introduction	p. 1
About This Book	p. 2
How to Use This Book	p. 2
What You Don't Need to Read	p. 3
Foolish Assumptions	p. 3
How This Book Is Organized	p. 3
Icons Used in This Book	p. 5
Where to Go from Here	p. 5
Part I Crypto Basics & What You Really Need to Know	p. 7
Chapter 1 A Primer on Crypto Basics	p. 9
It's Not about James Bond	p. 9
Getting to Know the Basic Terms	p. 12
What Makes a Cipher?	p. 13
Breaking Ciphers	p. 20
Cryptosystems	p. 22
Everyday Uses of Encryption	p. 23
Why Encryption Isn't More Commonplace	p. 28
Chapter 2 Major League Algorithms	p. 33
Beware of "Snake Oil"	p. 34
Symmetric Keys Are All the Same	p. 37
Symmetric Algorithms Come in Different Flavors	p. 40
Identifying Symmetric Algorithms	p. 45
Asymmetric Keys	p. 47
Working Together	p. 52
Chapter 3 Deciding What You Really Need	p. 53
Justifying the Costs to Management	p. 53
Do You Need Secure Communications?	p. 62
Do You Need to Authenticate Users?	p. 69
Do You Need to Ensure Confidentiality and Integrity?	p. 75
Protecting Personal Data	p. 75
What's It Gonna Cost?	p. 77
Chapter 4 Locks and Keys	p. 79
The Magic Passphrase	p. 80
The Key Concept	p. 88
Part II Public Key Infrastructure	p. 93
Chapter 5 The PKI Primer	p. 95
What Is PKI?	p. 96
Uses for PKI Systems	p. 103
Common PKI Problems	p. 105
Chapter 6 PKI Bits and Pieces	p. 107
Certificate Authorities	p. 108
Certificate Policies (CPs)	p. 111
Digital Certificates and Keys	p. 112
D'basing Your Certificates	p. 113
Certificate Revocation	p. 114
Picking the PKCS	p. 115
Chapter 7 All Keyed Up!	p. 119
So, What Exactly IS a Key?	p. 120
Making a Key	p. 120
The Long and Short of It	p. 121
Randomness in Keys Is Good	p. 122
Storing Your Keys Safely	p. 123
Keys for Different Purposes	p. 124
Keys and Algorithms	p. 124
One Key; Two Keys	p. 125
Trusting Those Keys	p. 129
Key Servers	p. 130
Part III Putting Encryption Technologies to Work for You	p. 135
Chapter 8 Securing E-Mail from Prying Eyes	p. 137
E-Mail Encryption Basics	p. 138
Digital Certificates or PGP Public/Private Key Pairs?	p. 140
Using S/MIME	p. 142
Fun and Games with PGP	p. 153
Other Encryption Stuff to Try	p. 164
Chapter 9 File and Storage Strategies	p. 167
Why Encrypt Your Data?	p. 168
Encrypted Storage Roulette	p. 170
Dealing with Integrity Issues	p. 174
Policies and Procedures	p. 177
Examples of Encryption Storage	p. 178
Chapter 10 Authentication Systems	p. 183
Common Authentication Systems	p. 185
Authentication Protocols	p. 188
How Authentication Systems Use Digital Certificates	p. 190
Tokens, Smart Cards, and Biometrics	p. 191
Chapter 11 Secure E-Commerce	p. 197
SSL Is the Standard	p. 198
Time for TLS	p. 203
Setting Up an SSL Solution	p. 204
XML Is the New Kid on the Block	p. 209
Going for Outsourced E-Commerce	p. 210
Chapter 12 Virtual Private Network (VPN) Encryption	p. 213
How Do VPNs Work Their Magic?	p. 214
Setting Up a VPN	p. 214
Various VPN Encryption Schemes	p. 217
Which Is Best?	p. 220
Testing, Testing, Testing	p. 221
Chapter 13 Wireless Encryption Basics	p. 223
Why WEP Makes Us Weep	p. 224
WEP Attack Methods	p. 227
Wireless Protection Measures	p. 230
Part IV The Part of Tens	p. 235
Chapter 14 The Ten Best Encryption Web Sites	p. 237
Mat Blaze's Cryptography Resource on the Web	p. 237
The Center for Democracy and Technology	p. 237
SSL Review	p. 238
How IPsec Works	p. 238
Code and Cipher	p. 238
CERIAS--Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security	p. 238
The Invisible Cryptologists--African Americans, WWII to 1956	p. 239
Bruce Schneier	p. 239
North American Cryptography Archives	p. 239
RSA's Crypto FAQ	p. 239
Chapter 15 The Ten Most Commonly Misunderstood Encryption Terms	p. 241
Military-Grade Encryption	p. 241
Trusted Third Party	p. 241
X.509 Certificates	p. 242
Rubber Hose Attack	p. 242
Shared Secret	p. 242
Key Escrow	p. 242
Initialization Vector	p. 243
Alice, Bob, Carol, and Dave	p. 243
Secret Algorithm	p. 243
Steganography	p. 244
Chapter 16 Cryptography Do's and Don'ts	p. 245
Do Be Sure the Plaintext Is Destroyed after a Document Is Encrypted	p. 245
Do Protect Your Key Recovery Database and Other Key Servers to the Greatest Extent Possible	p. 246
Don't Store Your Private Keys on the Hard Drive of Your Laptop or Other Personal Computing Device	p. 246
Do Make Sure Your Servers' Operating Systems Are "Hardened" before You Install Cryptological Systems on Them	p. 246
Do Train Your Users against Social Engineering	p. 247
Do Create the Largest Key Size Possible	p. 247
Do Test Your Cryptosystem after You Have It Up and Running	p. 248
Do Check the CERT Advisories and Vendor Advisories about Flaws and Weaknesses in Cryptosystems	p. 248
Don't Install a Cryptosystem Yourself If You're Not Sure What You Are Doing	p. 248
Don't Use Unknown, Untested Algorithms	p. 249
Chapter 17 Ten Principles of "Cryptiquette"	p. 251
If Someone Sends You an Encrypted Message, Reply in Kind	p. 251
Don't Create Too Many Keys	p. 251
Don't Immediately Trust Someone Just Because He/She Has a Public Key	p. 252
Always Back Up Your Keys and Passphrases	p. 252
Be Wary of What You Put in the Subject Line of Encrypted Messages	p. 252
If You Lose Your Key or Passphrase, Revoke Your Keys as Soon as Possible	p. 253
Don't Publish Someone's Public Key to a Public Key Server without His/Her Permission	p. 253
Don't Sign Someone's Public Key Unless You Have Reason To	p. 253
If You Are Corresponding with Someone for the First Time, Send an Introductory Note Along with Your Public Key	p. 254
Be Circumspect in What You Encrypt	p. 254
Chapter 18 Ten Very Useful Encryption Products	p. 255
PGP: Pretty Good Privacy	p. 255
GAIM	p. 255
madeSafe Vault	p. 256
Password Safe	p. 256
Kerberos	p. 256
OpenSSL and Apache SSL	p. 256
SafeHouse	p. 257
WebCrypt	p. 257
Privacy Master	p. 257
Advanced Encryption Package	p. 257
Part V Appendixes	p. 259
Appendix A Cryptographic Attacks	p. 261
Known Plaintext Attack	p. 262
Chosen Ciphertext Attacks	p. 262
Chosen Plaintext Attacks	p. 263
The Birthday Attack	p. 263
Man-in-the-Middle Attack	p. 263
Timing Attacks	p. 264
Rubber Hose Attack	p. 264
Electrical Fluctuation Attacks	p. 265
Major Boo-Boos	p. 265
Appendix B Glossary	p. 267
Appendix C Encryption Export Controls	p. 279
Index	p. 283

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Table of Contents