A survey of information authentication

Journal Article · Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Proc. IEEE; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/5.4445· OSTI ID:7122825

Simmons, G J

In deference to the origins of the problem of authentication in a communications context, the authors refer to the authenticated information as the message and, to the originator (of a message) as the transmitter. The message, devoid of any meaningful physical embodiment, is presented for authentication by a means that the they call the authentication channel. This channel is by definition insecure, i.e., all communications that pass through it are public and may even be intercepted and replaced or altered before being relayed on to the intended receiver. In the simplest possible authentication scheme the party receiving the message (the receiver) is also the one wishing to verify its authenticity; although, there are circumstances in which this is not the case. Authentication, however, is much broader than this communications based terminology would suggest. The information to be authenticated may indeed be a message in a communications channel, but it can equally well be data in a computer file or resident software in a computer; it can be quite literally a fingerprint in the application of the authentication channel to the verification of the identity of an individual or figuratively a ''fingerprint'' in the verification of the identity of a physical object such as a document or a tamper sensing container. In the broadest sense, authentication is concerned with establishing the integrity of information purely on the basis of the internal structure of the information itself, irrespective of the source of that information.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (US)
• OSTI ID: 7122825
• Journal Information: Proc. IEEE; (United States), Journal Name: Proc. IEEE; (United States) Vol. 76:5; ISSN IEEPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990100 -- Management
990220 -- Computers
Computerized Models
& Computer Programs-- (1987-1989)
990300* -- Information Handling
COMMUNICATIONS
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
COMPUTERS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
INFORMATION VALIDATION
SURVEYS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
TESTING
VALIDATION
VERIFICATION