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Message Transmission Security Risks

Version of 11 May 1998

Roger Clarke

© Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, 1996, 1997, 1998

This document was prepared as a breakout box to support the documents called 'Crypto-Confusion' and 'Data Transmission Security'. It provides an outline of the risks involved in the transmission of a message from one person or organisation to another.

This document is at http://www.rogerclarke.com/II/CryptoSecy.html

When a message is sent from one person or organisation to another, over a communications link, the following risks exist:

(1) Non-Receipt of a message by the intended recipient

1. This may be:

• accidental (e.g. through mis-addressing of the message, or loss in transit); or
• intentional (e.g. through interception and non-re-transmission by a third party, delivery to an imposter instead of the intended recipient, or non-transmission by a message-carrier).

(2) Access by an unintended person or organisation

This may be to:

• the contents of the message; or
• just to the fact that a message passed between that particular sender and that particular receiver.

Its cause may be:

• accidental (e.g. through mis-addressing of a message); or
• intentional (e.g. through interception in transit, delivery to an imposter, or unauthorised access by a message-carrier).

(3) Change to the contents while in transit

The cause may be:

• accidental (e.g. through corruption in transit, or misinterpretation by the sender's or the receiver's software); or
• intentional (e.g. through interception, change and re-transmission by some other party, including the message-carrier).

(4) Receipt of a false message

By this is meant a message that purports to come from a particular sender, but which that person or organisation did not in fact send. The cause may be:

• accidental (e.g. re-transmission of a duplicate message); or
• intentional (e.g. creation of a message by an imposter. This is commonly referred to as 'spoofing').

(5) Wrongful denial

This may be an act by:

• a message-sender claiming that they did not do send it; or
• a message-recipient claiming that they did not receive it.

The content and infrastructure for these community service pages are provided by Roger Clarke through his consultancy company, Xamax. From the site's beginnings in August 1994 until February 2009, the infrastructure was provided by the Australian National University. During that time, the site accumulated close to 30 million hits. It passed 65 million in early 2021. Sponsored by the Gallery, Bunhybee Grasslands, the extended Clarke Family, Knights of the Spatchcock and their drummer

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Created: 11 February 1996 - Last Amended: 11 May 1998 by Roger Clarke - Site Last Verified: 15 February 2009
This document is at www.rogerclarke.com/II/CryptoSecyRisks.html
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