Communications and Security
In World War 2 it became apparent that the Japanese were able to crack the communication codes used by the military. So the US Marines came with a great idea. They could use communication codes but also use Navajo Indians to write the message in their original language. Even if the Japanese cracked the code they would not be able to understand Navajo. These troops soon became to be known as "Code Talkers."
Today, we still encounter the problem of bad people trying to collect our information. Imagine if someone could see everything you were doing on your banks website. They would be able to see your password, account numbers or billing information. Imagine the damage that could be done. So computer scientists teamed up with cryptographers to create a communication security that would protect users from malicious attacks.
The most common type of encryption is a symmetric-key encryption. This uses a certain type of password that is a specific size that both the encoder and the decoder need in order to decrypt the message. Anyone who obtains the information without the key will just see gibberish. These keys have been anywhere from just a few bits to infinite in size. The larger the key the more impossible the code is to break but also the longer the message will take to decode.
Some companies and even the militaries around the world have taken this encryption to the next level buy using physical objects. Things like fingerprints or even keys can be used. A version used by the US military has a physical key combined with a clock element. The computers on both end must have their clocks synced. Then both users must enter and turn the key with in seconds of each other in order for the computers to produce the same temporary encryption key. The message is sent and received with no issue. This makes the key difference every time while also reducing risks that can be caused by lost or stolen physical keys.
Your information online is very important. It is our responsibility to ensure it is dealt with in a safe and secure fashion. Please ensure everything you do is secure before transferring important information.
Hi Andrew! I really enjoyed reading this blog post on communications and security. I liked how you started your topic from the past history of World War 2. Security has been always an issue, but it became more crucial after the invention of World Wide Web. There has been numerous cases of stealing personal information in the past. I agree with you that encryption is used in almost all communication to make it more secure. Overall, I think you did a great job with this blog post on communications and security.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteIt's a good article. I really like reading your post. For you introduction, I think that "World War II" would be a very nice and attractive topic. You have talked a lot of history about communication and security and that would make us know how it improves. It makes a good sense.
Also you introduced some types of encryption and it was very useful. It's a nice blog!
Hi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteReally good article on communications and security. I was unaware of the technique that the US Marines used. I personally think this was a stroke of genius. When you mention additional physical objects being used it is a type of two factor authentication. In two factor authentication one needs two different pieces of information to successfully authenticate oneself. Additionally what piqued my curiosity is the clock synchronization. It is impossible to accurately maintain the same clock. If the clocks aren't synced perfectly then it could open up an opportunity for a malicious element to hack in. This can perhaps be solved by synchronizing periodically to ensure that the clocks are reading the same time.
Hi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteNice blog post about Communications and Security. I liked your post decoration pattern. You started with talking about past history of security issues.Then explained about modern security issues. I was not familiar with Code Talkers history. And I also agree with you that now a days encryption method use for all communicating sector to unsure safe data transfer. But still it is not 100% secure. Overall, you did excellent job Communications and Security using Cryptography.