DEFEND YOUR DATA

Network Encryption

Encryption is the coding or scrambling of information so that it can only be decoded and read by someone who has
the correct decoding key. Encrypting 'data at rest' is storing the encrypted data to disk or some other kind of media.
But what about data in transport? If a file is stored on an encrypted hard drive, it will lose the encryption when it
is transferred from the drive. If the file is transmitted over the wire across the Internet, it may risk the possibility
of getting intercepted along it's path and being easily read since it's in an unencrypted state.

For reference, cleartext (or plaintext) is unencrypted data and ciphertext is encrypted data.

Fortunately, strong encryption has been developed to prevent any data intercepted in transit from being easily read
by unauthorized individuals. This page will describe some standards being used for encrypting data in motion.

If using container encryption, maybe with TrueCrypt, you can transport an already encrypted file across unsecured
networks and still be protected.


<--- For Virtual Private Network (VPN) info, click icon below --->

                                  

- Types of Cryptosystems -

* Secret key *
-Symmetric
-Single or 1-key encryption
-Requires secure key distribution channel
-Fast! Much faster than asymmetric crypto
-Examples: DES, 3DES, AES, IDEA, Blowfish
Linktionary Definition


* Public key *
-Asymmetric
-Dual or 2-key encryption (public & private key pair)
-Public keys widely distributed via digital signatures
-Longer key lengths needed
-Slow! Much slower than symmetric crypto
-Examples: RSA, El Gamal, ECC
Linktionary Definition


* Hash *
-One-way encryption (also called message digests)
-No key needed; plaintext not recoverable from ciphertext
-Used for message integrity; passwords also use one-way hashing
-Examples: HMAC, MD2, MD4, MD5, RIPEMD-160, SHA
Linktionary Definition



- Implementations -

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS)

SSL Defined
SSL Explained

TLS Defined  (Opening ad?)
TLS Explained  (needs verification, but good source)

SSL Information Center  (VeriSign)

SSL Certificates  (DigiCert)
SSL Certificates  (SSL.com)


Open Source SSL Toolkit

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Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)

PGP Defined

PGP Corporation

PGP Downloads

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Kerberos

Kerberos "Home Page"   (MIT-developed authentication protocol)

Kerberos Defined

Microsoft Kerberos

Kerberos FAQ

Kerberos Consortium

References & Distros

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IPsec

IPsec Defined

Microsoft IPsec

How it works