Electronic envelope
Encyclopedia
An electronic envelope or e-envelope is almost like a postal Envelope
in function. Where a paper Envelope
privately encloses its contents like a mail message, so an Electronic envelope privately encloses its contents like an e-mail message. Currently, e-mail not enclosed in an electronic envelope is like sending a Postcard
in the standard postal mail system. Just like the postcard, where any postal worker handling the mail can read its contents, any server operator and programs from governments can read your E-mail
(also "email"). E-mail
is more or less an electronic postcard (or E-postcard)in function. ("e-" = electronic as in e-mail (email), e-envelope or e-postcard.)
A missive, composed personal or business letter or a document is placed into a postal envelope, usually sealed, addressed and mailed through the Postal system. The envelope can be intercepted and the interceptor of the mail can open it, read it and understand it providing the interceptor can read the language, understand the terminology or break any encryption of data. Most paper mail does not have this happen to it unless a government has a specific interest in a person's mail. When the letter or envelope arrives the recipient opens the sealed envelope, takes out the contents and must have the understanding and knowledge to read it.
In the postal system there is no way of scanning the contents of the envelopes passing through the system for specific key words or text enclosed in the envelope. But in the Internet world, e-mail can be scanned by governments, ISP's, companies, Internet traffic servers, bots, by key words, names mentioned, etc.
An e-envelope is an electronic e-mail with a message or data which has been encrypted into a data packet. The Plaintext
Internet address header is at the top of the e-mail message and the encrypted message or data packet is in the message area. An e-mail message with a fully encrypted data packet in the message area is an electronic envelope or e-envelope. The message can be intercepted and the interceptor of the e-mail can read it with the right Decryption method, Password
or Passphrase
. The ease of decryption depends on the strength of the Encryption
method. Cryptographically strong methods usually use Password
s or Passphrase
s to protect the Key (cryptography)
. Weak Password
s or weak Passphrase
s make the e-envelope easier to open by e-mail handlers or snoopers. Strong passwords or pass phrases can make the opening of these electronic envelopes virtually impossible to open except by its intended recipient. The loss of the key, a forgotten password or pass phrase can also yield these e-envelopes impossible to open. It is always a good idea to make the e-envelope open able by both the sender and recipient so the message can be re-sent to a person who has lost the key, or forgotten a password or passphrase.
An e-envelope can also be an encrypted communication between parties using Internet browsers that can use https. The encryption/decryption engine on a special Internet server like the free Hushmail
Express at www.hushmail.com can be used without any resident software on either computer. PGP (or Pretty Good Privacy
) has been an Internet Standard since the early 1990s. It is freely available for most common computer platforms. One source is a free "trial" version at www.pgp.com that has been available for a number of years. When you get to that website as it frequently changes, look for the individual and or small business versions and download it as an individual for personal use. After the trial version expires the automatic features cease to function, but the functions that allow you to encrypt the text of an e-mail or other documents on your computer remains functional. It is easy to use it in manual mode after that for free. Another version of PGP is freely available as GNU Privacy Guard
. Most IT (Information technology
)workers are familiar with it and it has been an Internet standard since the 1990s. It always has a free version, but there is a small learning curve in learning how to use it. Just download the personal or small office versions and after 30 days the commercial version reverts to the free version usable for e-mail. There are other such free Internet encryption engines available which can encrypt/decrypt your e-mail message text. Whatever you use, the other party or person must have the same compatible software as well, unless using self-decrypting archives and mailing them as an e-mail attachment. There must be strong trust between the sender and the receiver that the self-decrypting archive is from them because it is an executable (.exe)program file with the encrypted message in it. A phone call or Internet Chat message between two persons that have known each other for considerable time is a good way of being able to tell if what you are receiving is trust worthy to allay fears it is a virus or other malware. It should be sent and expected in a short time frame of just a few minutes so there is less chance of someone pretending to be the other party sending a virus. Various PGP programs can do this, but a pass phrase must be set up between the sender and receiver to open the message. Some e-mail providers will not let these types of files through their systems as attachments because the Internet Service Provider does not know if such a file is a virus or not. In that case that file might have to be enclosed in an industry standard Zip (file format)
that in itself cannot cause harm by passing through server or e-mail provider system on the Internet. High end "pay for" providers often have a way for these files to get through but many of the free services do not. You must check with the e-mail providers you are using or experiment. Another "free trial" use and pay for provider is www.s-mail.com in Ireland, but the computer you are using must be able to download and store a java program. Many public library and employer computers have security features enabled to prevent this. But using a personal laptop or wireless PDA
in an employer's, library's, Internet Cafe's or other Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
public use area often do not have these limitations.
Hand calculated pencil and paper ciphers or codes when typed up in a digital form on a computer can also be considered electronic envelopes. Some simple Substitution cipher
s or transposition cipher
s or combinations of both, using the common ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) computer characters can also be used. These characters are found on the standard Romanized Latin alphabet
text keyboards in English and other European countries which are used to compose Internet messages encased in electronic envelopes.
Envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card....
in function. Where a paper Envelope
Envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card....
privately encloses its contents like a mail message, so an Electronic envelope privately encloses its contents like an e-mail message. Currently, e-mail not enclosed in an electronic envelope is like sending a Postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
in the standard postal mail system. Just like the postcard, where any postal worker handling the mail can read its contents, any server operator and programs from governments can read your E-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
(also "email"). E-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
is more or less an electronic postcard (or E-postcard)in function. ("e-" = electronic as in e-mail (email), e-envelope or e-postcard.)
A missive, composed personal or business letter or a document is placed into a postal envelope, usually sealed, addressed and mailed through the Postal system. The envelope can be intercepted and the interceptor of the mail can open it, read it and understand it providing the interceptor can read the language, understand the terminology or break any encryption of data. Most paper mail does not have this happen to it unless a government has a specific interest in a person's mail. When the letter or envelope arrives the recipient opens the sealed envelope, takes out the contents and must have the understanding and knowledge to read it.
In the postal system there is no way of scanning the contents of the envelopes passing through the system for specific key words or text enclosed in the envelope. But in the Internet world, e-mail can be scanned by governments, ISP's, companies, Internet traffic servers, bots, by key words, names mentioned, etc.
An e-envelope is an electronic e-mail with a message or data which has been encrypted into a data packet. The Plaintext
Plaintext
In cryptography, plaintext is information a sender wishes to transmit to a receiver. Cleartext is often used as a synonym. Before the computer era, plaintext most commonly meant message text in the language of the communicating parties....
Internet address header is at the top of the e-mail message and the encrypted message or data packet is in the message area. An e-mail message with a fully encrypted data packet in the message area is an electronic envelope or e-envelope. The message can be intercepted and the interceptor of the e-mail can read it with the right Decryption method, Password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
or Passphrase
Passphrase
A passphrase is a sequence of words or other text used to control access to a computer system, program or data. A passphrase is similar to a password in usage, but is generally longer for added security. Passphrases are often used to control both access to, and operation of, cryptographic programs...
. The ease of decryption depends on the strength of the Encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
method. Cryptographically strong methods usually use Password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
s or Passphrase
Passphrase
A passphrase is a sequence of words or other text used to control access to a computer system, program or data. A passphrase is similar to a password in usage, but is generally longer for added security. Passphrases are often used to control both access to, and operation of, cryptographic programs...
s to protect the Key (cryptography)
Key (cryptography)
In cryptography, a key is a piece of information that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm or cipher. Without a key, the algorithm would produce no useful result. In encryption, a key specifies the particular transformation of plaintext into ciphertext, or vice versa...
. Weak Password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
s or weak Passphrase
Passphrase
A passphrase is a sequence of words or other text used to control access to a computer system, program or data. A passphrase is similar to a password in usage, but is generally longer for added security. Passphrases are often used to control both access to, and operation of, cryptographic programs...
s make the e-envelope easier to open by e-mail handlers or snoopers. Strong passwords or pass phrases can make the opening of these electronic envelopes virtually impossible to open except by its intended recipient. The loss of the key, a forgotten password or pass phrase can also yield these e-envelopes impossible to open. It is always a good idea to make the e-envelope open able by both the sender and recipient so the message can be re-sent to a person who has lost the key, or forgotten a password or passphrase.
An e-envelope can also be an encrypted communication between parties using Internet browsers that can use https. The encryption/decryption engine on a special Internet server like the free Hushmail
Hushmail
Hushmail is a web-based email service offering PGP-encrypted e-mail, file storage, vanity domain service, and instant messaging . Hushmail uses OpenPGP standards and the source is available for download. Additional security features include hidden IP addresses in e-mail headers...
Express at www.hushmail.com can be used without any resident software on either computer. PGP (or Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is often used for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts, E-mails, files, directories and whole disk partitions to increase the security...
) has been an Internet Standard since the early 1990s. It is freely available for most common computer platforms. One source is a free "trial" version at www.pgp.com that has been available for a number of years. When you get to that website as it frequently changes, look for the individual and or small business versions and download it as an individual for personal use. After the trial version expires the automatic features cease to function, but the functions that allow you to encrypt the text of an e-mail or other documents on your computer remains functional. It is easy to use it in manual mode after that for free. Another version of PGP is freely available as GNU Privacy Guard
GNU Privacy Guard
GNU Privacy Guard is a GPL Licensed alternative to the PGP suite of cryptographic software. GnuPG is compliant with RFC 4880, which is the current IETF standards track specification of OpenPGP...
. Most IT (Information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
)workers are familiar with it and it has been an Internet standard since the 1990s. It always has a free version, but there is a small learning curve in learning how to use it. Just download the personal or small office versions and after 30 days the commercial version reverts to the free version usable for e-mail. There are other such free Internet encryption engines available which can encrypt/decrypt your e-mail message text. Whatever you use, the other party or person must have the same compatible software as well, unless using self-decrypting archives and mailing them as an e-mail attachment. There must be strong trust between the sender and the receiver that the self-decrypting archive is from them because it is an executable (.exe)program file with the encrypted message in it. A phone call or Internet Chat message between two persons that have known each other for considerable time is a good way of being able to tell if what you are receiving is trust worthy to allay fears it is a virus or other malware. It should be sent and expected in a short time frame of just a few minutes so there is less chance of someone pretending to be the other party sending a virus. Various PGP programs can do this, but a pass phrase must be set up between the sender and receiver to open the message. Some e-mail providers will not let these types of files through their systems as attachments because the Internet Service Provider does not know if such a file is a virus or not. In that case that file might have to be enclosed in an industry standard Zip (file format)
ZIP (file format)
Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
that in itself cannot cause harm by passing through server or e-mail provider system on the Internet. High end "pay for" providers often have a way for these files to get through but many of the free services do not. You must check with the e-mail providers you are using or experiment. Another "free trial" use and pay for provider is www.s-mail.com in Ireland, but the computer you are using must be able to download and store a java program. Many public library and employer computers have security features enabled to prevent this. But using a personal laptop or wireless PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
in an employer's, library's, Internet Cafe's or other Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider...
public use area often do not have these limitations.
Hand calculated pencil and paper ciphers or codes when typed up in a digital form on a computer can also be considered electronic envelopes. Some simple Substitution cipher
Substitution cipher
In cryptography, a substitution cipher is a method of encryption by which units of plaintext are replaced with ciphertext according to a regular system; the "units" may be single letters , pairs of letters, triplets of letters, mixtures of the above, and so forth...
s or transposition cipher
Transposition cipher
In cryptography, a transposition cipher is a method of encryption by which the positions held by units of plaintext are shifted according to a regular system, so that the ciphertext constitutes a permutation of the plaintext. That is, the order of the units is changed...
s or combinations of both, using the common ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) computer characters can also be used. These characters are found on the standard Romanized Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
text keyboards in English and other European countries which are used to compose Internet messages encased in electronic envelopes.
External links
- The electronic envelope, by Misra, Santosh K., Publication: Internal Auditor, Date: Dec 1998,
- An Electronic Envelope, same link in Internet Archive WAYBACK MACHINE
- How electronic encryption works, same link in Internet Archive WAYBACK MACHINE
- Privacy on the Internet, David M. Goldschlag (goldschlag@itd.nrl.navy.mil), Michael G. Reed (reed@itd.nrl.navy.mil), Paul F. Syverson (syverson@itd.nrl.navy.mil), onion-router.net, same link in Internet Archive WAYBACK MACHINE
- "Glossary for IT security terms", "PKCS#7", electronic envelope, same link in Internet Archive WAYBACK MACHINE