Term of the Day: IPsec

[Keefe]

Short for IP Security, a set of protocols being developed by the IETF to support secure exchange of packets at the IP layer. Once it's completed, IPsec is expected to be deployed widely to implement Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

IPsec supports two encryption modes: Transport and Tunnel. Transport mode encrypts only the data portion (payload) of each packet, but leaves the header untouched. The more secure Tunnel mode encrypts both the header and the payload. On the receiving side, an IPSec-compliant device decrypts each packet.

For IPsec to work, the sending and receiving devices must share a public key. This is accomplished through a protocol known as Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol/Oakley (ISAKMP/Oakley), which allows the receiver to obtain a public key and authenticate the sender using digital certificates.

Unfortantly as one man can build it another man can take it apart (or woman for that matter).  The best way to keep a computer truly secure is to lock it in a vault and take a fire-ax to the internet connection.  But even then there exist devices that can sense the feedback from monitors and computers over electrical lines and rebuild the data.  The ultimate security for infomation would be to let only one man compile and work on the project, have him eat all the data and then shoot him in the head and burn the body.  Bear in mind the time table of project using this security method can become quite lengthy and the legal implications will not be discussed here.