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Re: PEM = Protected Electronic Mail

1994-06-15 13:26:00
What's broke: The term "privacy enhanced mail" emphasizes the privacy
aspect of PEM and does not mention integrity or authentication.  I
also find the use of "enhanced" a bit strange stylistically.

The term "enhanced" carries some important information.  PEM
enhances the privacy (and integrity and authentication) of electronic
mail, but does NOT provide a full security solution.  For example,
PEM is vulnerable to attacks on the underlying operating systems, etc.

Just as operating systems that are B1 or B2 are often referred to
as "security enhanced", rather than "secure", the term "enhanced"
seems appropriate for the intended applications of PEM.



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