Computer Science 530 - Assignment #2 -- Fall 2008

Due: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 11:00 p.m.

In this report you are asked to explain the difference between the protections provided to email using:

1. SSL (or TLS) when logging into a service like GMAIL
2. SSL or TLS used when retrieving messages using POP or IMAP
3. SMTP to relay messages between mail servers
4. the protectins provided end-to-end by by PGP, S/MIME or GPG

Note that this question is asking about four approaches to protecting email which are not mutually exclusive - i.e. you might use more than one. When answering, please address the following questions about each:

1. Who needs to have keys registered and associated with their identity?
2. Where and for how long is the email protected, and what kinds of protections are applied (e.g., confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation).
3. What are the issues associated with managing the security, and in particular, which approach is more easily managed?
4. Consider several different attacks against email security, and explain which approach is most suitable for protecting email against several different kinds of attacks.

INSTRUCTION:

The report must be submitted by 11:00 p.m. on October 28, 2009. The report should be approximately 3 pages, or roughly 1200 to 1500 words. To submit your report you will use the DEN Blackboard assignent submission mechanism. You will use this method regardless of whether you are an on-campus student or a DEN student.

How to submit Assignment #1:

• STEP 1. Please login to DEN, and select csci530.
• STEP 2. Please select "Assignment" in the menu.
• STEP 3. Please select "view/Complete Assignment #2".
• STEP 4. Please select "File To Attach" to attach your report. (NOTE: PDF, MS WORD, ASCII TEXT ONLY! Other formats are NOT acceptable.)
• STEP 5. Please select "Submit" button. (If you select *SAVE* button instead of *submit*, then the TA cannot view your report for grading.)

It is the individual student's responsibility to follow the submission instruction. Submissions that do not follow this instructions, e.g., submitted late (beyond any automatic extension), or only "Saved" and not submitted. may be penalized or may not be graded at all.

Students may receive an automatic extension of 48 hours total that may be applied across the three homework assignments. If you turn in one of your assignment 8 hours late, then you will only have 40 hours remaining in extensions to use on subsequent assignments. (In answer to questions I have received - since the research paper proposal is not graded, it can be turned in late without coutning against the free late assignment allowance).

GUIDELINE:

This is a lot to cover in so few words - so our advice is to write a first pass at your answer that is longer, and then edit out material that is redundant or not to the point. The use of tables can be very effective in conveying your ideas in a small area, but the tables must be integrated with your textual discussion, and not the only item in your submission.