Ever wonder who might be listening to your online conversations. Aside from all the
possibilities with Social Media sites, your email is anything but private. And it
doesn't matter if you are using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer
Security). These security systems are only for the transport layer, and do not cover
storage. And even if the messages get stored encrypted, guess who controls the
Encryption/Decryption. Your only way around it is to encrypt the message before you
send it, and the person at the other end must have the decryption key. And if you are
using central storage for your messages (AKA Cloud computing), the encrypted message
is always available for someone to try and figure out the key.
Hidden Conversations is a 2 part private messaging system with built in
encryption/decryption. Version 1.0 uses Symmetric keys that start with a shared secret,
and change with every record sent. Because shared secrets are relatively easy to crack,
Version 2.0 will use 2048 bit Public/Private keys to start the conversation. Version
1.0 works for relatively short messages, but long messages that get broken up into
multiple packets will cause problems. Therefore, Version 2.0 packets will be structured
with a record length.
The 2 programs (Host & Client) are self contained, and do not require any additional
controls. Although the Cryptographic calls will probably work on most Windows operating
systems, the TCP/IP calls require a dual stack operating system that supports both IPv4
and IPv6. This more or less restricts it to Windows Vista or later. Because of the lack
of a full IPv6 network, IPv6 has not been tested yet.
J.A. Coutts
possibilities with Social Media sites, your email is anything but private. And it
doesn't matter if you are using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer
Security). These security systems are only for the transport layer, and do not cover
storage. And even if the messages get stored encrypted, guess who controls the
Encryption/Decryption. Your only way around it is to encrypt the message before you
send it, and the person at the other end must have the decryption key. And if you are
using central storage for your messages (AKA Cloud computing), the encrypted message
is always available for someone to try and figure out the key.
Hidden Conversations is a 2 part private messaging system with built in
encryption/decryption. Version 1.0 uses Symmetric keys that start with a shared secret,
and change with every record sent. Because shared secrets are relatively easy to crack,
Version 2.0 will use 2048 bit Public/Private keys to start the conversation. Version
1.0 works for relatively short messages, but long messages that get broken up into
multiple packets will cause problems. Therefore, Version 2.0 packets will be structured
with a record length.
The 2 programs (Host & Client) are self contained, and do not require any additional
controls. Although the Cryptographic calls will probably work on most Windows operating
systems, the TCP/IP calls require a dual stack operating system that supports both IPv4
and IPv6. This more or less restricts it to Windows Vista or later. Because of the lack
of a full IPv6 network, IPv6 has not been tested yet.
J.A. Coutts