Trusting Your E-mail with Java Security

By Theodore J. Shrader
2003-12-04


Java technologies give you a complete and secure solution
Internet transactions, especially messages, are the lifeblood of e-business. Ensuring their security is a requirement, not a luxury, for sensitive transactions. This article examines the Java technologies that developers can use to bring security to their e-business transactions, whether Internet messages or other types of operations. This article focuses on describing the security requirements and concepts, as well as demonstrating Java security technologies that can be used for authenticating and verifying the integrity of an e-mail message. This article also presents ways in which a message can be kept confidential by enshrouding its contents with secrecy.

Your e-mail application notifies you that Benjamin, a friend and fellow software engineer, has sent you mail from his account at Antietam Software. The message includes an attachment. Before opening it, you pause to wonder if your friend really sent the message. You know that Internet messages can easily be spoofed or their contents altered. How can you verify that the message originated from Ben and that its content is intact?

Tutorial Pages:
» Java technologies give you a complete and secure solution
» Security requirements
» Failing scenarios
» Building closed systems
» Using a secret key
» Opening the message
» Public and private keys
» Signing a message
» Signing messages with Java technologies
» Using PKCS and S/MIME
» Encrypting messages
» Conclusion


First published by IBM DeveloperWorks

Related Tutorials: » All about JAXP, Part 1 » Make Database Queries Without the Database » Load List Values for Improved Efficiency » 2 Ways To Implement Session Tracking » A Simple Way to Read an XML File in Java » Develop Aspect-Oriented Java Applications with Eclipse and AJDT