Computer Network Security Protocols

Abstract

The rapid growth of the Internet and corresponding Internet communities have fueled a rapid growth of both individual and business communications leading to the growth of e-mail and e-commerce. In fact, studies now show that the majority of the Internet communication content is e-mail content. The direct result of this has been the growing concern and sometimes demand for security and privacy in electronic communication and e-commerce. Security and privacy are essential if individual communication is to continue and e-commerce is to thrive in cyberspace. The call and desire for security and privacy have led to the advent of several proposals for security protocols and standards. Among these are Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocols, secure IP (IPSec), Secure HTTP (S-HTTP), secure e-mail (PGP and S/MIME), DNDSEC, SSH, and others. Before we proceed with the discussion of these and others, we want to warn the reader of the need for a firm understanding of the network protocol stack; otherwise go back and look over the material in Chap. 1 before continuing. We will discuss these protocols and standards within the framework of the network protocol stack as follows.