Practical Protocols For Certified Electronic Mail [Vol. 4, No. 3, 1996]

Practical Protocols For Certified Electronic Mail

R. H. Deng
Institute of Systems Science
National University of Singapore
Kent Ridge, Singapore 119597
Email: deng_AT_iss.nus.sg

L. Gong
SRI International
Computer Science Laboratory
Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
Email: gong_AT_csl.sri.com

A. A. Lazar
Department of Electrical Engineering
and Center for Telecommunications Research
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027-6699, USA
Email: aurel_AT_ctr.columbia.edu

W. Wang
Institute of Systems Science
National University of Singapore
Kent Ridge, Singapore 119597
Email: wwang_AT_iss.nus.sg

Abstract
Electronic mail, or e-mail, has brought us a big step closer towards the vision of paperless offices. To advance even closer to this vision, however, it is essential that existing e-mail systems be enhanced with value-added services which are capable of replacing many of the human procedures established in pen and paper communications. One of the most important and desirable such services is certified e-mail delivery, in which the intended recipient will get the mail content if and only if the mail originator receives an irrefutable proof-of-delivery from the recipient. In this paper, we present the design of two third-party based certified mail protocols, termed CMP1 and CMP2. Both protocols are designed for integration into existing standard e-mail systems and both satisfy the requirements of non-repudiation of origin, non-repudiation of delivery, and fairness. The difference between CMP1 and CMP2 is that the former provides no mail content confidentiality protection while the latter provides such a protection. Moreover, security of the protocols are analyzed using a recently proposed accountability framework.

Keywords: digital signature, electronic mail, encryption, security

JNSM: Vol. 4, No. 3, 1996 Practical Protocols For Certified Electronic Mail [Vol. 4, No. 3, 1996]

NOTE: only abstract of paper available on-line

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