Businessweek Archives

How To Foil Pesky E Mail Snoops

Bits & Bytes


SECURING E-MAIL AND OTHER MESSAGES FROM PRYING eyes has become a big issue on the wide-open Internet. Now, Elementrix Inc. in New York is applying one of cryptography's oldest techniques--the so-called one-time pad--to the problem. As the name implies, the scheme calls for encoding every message with its own unique key, or password. That way, breaking into any single message doesn't help a spy break into the next one. Elementrix' Power One Time Pad software, which is priced at $495 and designed for IBM-compatible personal computers, automates the generation of those keys.

Here's how it works: First, two individuals decide on an initial key--a string of text characters, say. They then use that to encrypt the first message to pass between them. To calculate a key for the return message, the software uses a combination of the first key and the actual computer file that it helped move. The process repeats, with every new key getting derived from a combination of previous keys and messages. The result is an endless series of seemingly random keys. Another feature: Elementrix officials say they have overcome the problem of faulty communications lines and computer crashes, which might otherwise corrupt the process.EDITED BY PAUL M. ENG

Burger King's Young Buns

(enter your email)
(enter up to 5 email addresses, separated by commas)

Max 250 characters

blog comments powered by Disqus