Secure Electronic Communication Email using PKI encryption

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Secure Electronic Communication(E-mail using PKI
/ encryption)

• Bruce Farnell
• IT Manager
• Bendigo District
• Division of General Practice
• www.bgodivgp.org.au
• 11-11-2000

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Limitations with standard E-mail

• Lack of confidentiality or Message Content
  Security
• No integrity of Message Content
• No authentication of the Sender and Recipient
• Absence of Non-Repudiation by the Sender and
  Recipient
• These limitations are precisely what PKI can
  overcome.

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What can Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) do for
me?

• Enables users of a basically insecure public
  network such as the Internet to securely and
  privately exchange data.
• Uses digital certificates to identify an
  individual or an organisation.

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A Public Key Infrastructure consists of

• A certificate authority (CA) that issues and
  verifies digital certificate. A certificate
  includes the public key or information about the
  public key.
• A registration authority (RA) that acts as the
  verifier of the requestor identity for the
  certificate authority before a digital
  certificate is issued to a requestor.

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A Public Key Infrastructure consists of

• One or more directories where the certificates
  (with their public keys) are held. (ie an LDAP
  Server)
• A certificate management system

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How it works.

• A public and private key are created
  simultaneously (CA).
• The private key is given only to the requesting
  party. (It is NEVER shared!)
• The public key is made publicly available (as
  part of a digital certificate) in a directory
  that all parties can access.

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Who provides the Infrastructure?

• Medicare Australia / HESA - Certificates
  Australia
• Verisign etc
• Numerous health industry projects related to
  secure communications.
• Roll your own - Not recommended for everybody.
• The keyword is Trust

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What is the absolute minimum I need to Experiment
with this Technology?

• A computer with appropriate Internet access
• Suitable e-mail software
• - Outlook 98/2000
• - Outlook Express 5.5 (128bit)
• - Netscape Messenger
• - Eudora etc
• A digital certificate or identity

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