Data Authentication Demonstration for Radionuclide Stations
Data authentication is required for certification of sensor stations in the International Monitoring System (IMS). Authentication capability has been previously demonstrated for continuous waveform stations (seismic and infrasound). This paper addresses data surety for the radionuclide stations in the IMS, in particular the Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer (RASA) system developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Radionuclide stations communicate data by electronic mail using formats defined in IMS 1.0, Formats and Protocols for Messages. An open message authentication standard exists, called S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions), which has been proposed for use with all IMS radionuclide station message communications. This standard specifies adding a digital signature and public key certificate as a MIME attachment to the e-mail message. It is advantageous because it allows authentication to be added to all IMS 1.0 messages in a standard format and is commercially supported in e-mail software. For command and control, the RASA system uses a networked Graphical User Interface (GUI) based upon Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) communications, which requires special authentication procedures. The authors have modified the RASA system to meet CTBTO authentication guidelines, using a FORTEZZA card for authentication functions. They demonstrated signing radionuclide data messages at the RASA, then sending, receiving, and verifying the messages at a data center. They demonstrated authenticating command messages and responses from the data center GUI to the RASA. Also, the particular authentication system command to change the private/public key pair and retrieve the new public key was demonstrated. This work shows that data surety meeting IMS guidelines may be immediately applied to IMS radionuclide systems.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 9573
- Report Number(s):
- SAND99-1404C; TRN: AH200124%%402
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 21st Seismic Research Symposium: Technologies for Monitoring the CTBT, Las Vegas, NV (US), 09/21/1999--09/24/1999; Other Information: PBD: 3 Aug 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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