Editing Secure communication (section)

== Tools used to obtain security ==

=== Encryption ===
{{Main|Encryption}}
[[Encryption]] is a method in which data is rendered hard to read by an unauthorized party. Since encryption methods are created to be extremely hard to break, many communication methods either use deliberately weaker encryption than possible, or have [[Backdoor (computing)|backdoor]]s inserted to permit rapid decryption. In some cases government authorities have required backdoors be installed in secret. Many methods of encryption are also subject to "[[Man-in-the-middle attack|man in the middle]]" attack whereby a third party who can 'see' the establishment of the secure communication is made privy to the encryption method, this would apply for example to the interception of computer use at an ISP. Provided it is correctly programmed, sufficiently powerful, and the keys not intercepted, encryption would usually be considered secure. The article on [[key size]] examines the key requirements for certain degrees of encryption security.

Encryption can be implemented in a way that requires the use of encryption, i.e. if encrypted communication is impossible then no traffic is sent, or opportunistically. [[Opportunistic encryption]] is a lower security method to generally increase the percentage of generic traffic which is encrypted.  This is analogous to beginning every conversation with "Do you speak [[Code talker|Navajo]]?"  If the response is affirmative, then the conversation proceeds in Navajo, otherwise it uses the common language of the two speakers.  This method does not generally provide [[authentication]] or [[anonymity]] but it does protect the content of the conversation from [[eavesdropping]].

An [[Information-theoretic security]] technique known as [[Information-theoretic security#Physical Layer Encryption|physical layer encryption]] ensures that a wireless communication link is provably secure with communications and coding techniques.

=== Steganography ===
{{Main|Steganography}}
[[Steganography]] ("hidden writing") is the means by which data can be hidden within other more innocuous data. Thus a watermark proving ownership embedded in the data of a picture, in such a way it is hard to find or remove unless you know how to find it. Or, for communication, the hiding of important data (such as a telephone number) in apparently innocuous data (an MP3 music file). An advantage of steganography is [[plausible deniability]], that is, unless one can prove the data is there (which is usually not easy), it is deniable that the file contains any.

=== Identity-based networks ===
Unwanted or malicious activities are possible on the web since the internet is effectively anonymous. True identity-based networks replace the ability to remain anonymous and are inherently more trustworthy since the identity of the sender and recipient are known. (The telephone system is an example of an identity-based network.)

=== Anonymized networks ===
Recently, anonymous networking has been used to secure communications. In principle, a large number of users running the same system, can have communications routed between them in such a way that it is very difficult to detect what the complete message is, which user sent it, and where it is ultimately coming from or going to. Examples are [[Crowds (anonymity network)|Crowds]], [[Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]], [[I2P]], [[Mixminion]], various [[anonymous P2P]] networks, and others.

=== Anonymous communication devices ===
Typically, an unknown device would not be noticed, since so many other devices are in use. This is not assured in reality, due to the presence of systems such as [[Carnivore (FBI)|Carnivore]] and [[UNZAK|unzak]], which can monitor communications over entire networks, and the fact that the far end may be monitored as before. Examples include [[payphone]]s, [[Internet cafe]], etc.