Secure Emails

Over the past few days I have been working on the secured email project. The first few steps were very familiar. however, I ran into some trouble when I no longer had access to the computer, I had originally downloaded the certificate from. 

Idlette, Walter, "ISM Secure Email", 2011

I then proceeded to download another certificate, using another email account, however, that was not apart of the assignment. Fortunately I was able to gain access to the originally computer I was one, and was able to complete the remainder of the Project. All in all the assignment was not very difficult, but the i definitely learned about how importance it is to protect sensitive information. This is event in the article link below.

The above picture displays the photo shot of the digitally signed email, as well, as the encrypted email that are in located in my Thunderbird Inbox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/politics/12hackers.html?_r=1

The article was obtained from the New York Times, and was published on April 3, 2011. The article discusses how computer hackers were able to infiltrate a security company, HBGary Federal, earlier this year ( February 2011).  HBGary sells investigative services to corporations that are trying to damage the reputation of their competitors.  The computer hackers were able to post over 10,000 of HBGary company's emails onto the internet.  Some of the company emails included ways to damage high profile businesses adversaries of The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Bank of America.  

 

Among the documents obtained was a PowerPoint, which included a variety of ways that deal with the "Adversaries". For example, one proposed ways to embarrass adversaries of the Chamber of Commerce for an initial fee of $200,000 and $2 million later.  Aaron Barr,  HBGary Associate, estimated that the “competitive intelligence” industry had over 9,000 companies offering these services, with an annual market of more than $2 billion.

Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce both deny hiring HBGary to investigate their competitors.  Coincidentally,  HBGary offered to complete work for  Hunton & Williams Law Firm, which happens to represent both Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  HBGary admitted that they had been victims of a cyber assault, but they released a statement saying that some of the documents might have been “falsified”. Tom Collamore, a chamber spokesman, said, “The leaked e-mails appear to show that HBGary Federal was willing to propose questionable actions in an attempt to drum up business, but the chamber was not aware of these proposals until HBGary’s e-mails leaked.”  

 

It id for the reasons that companies must use a secure email service to protect their information from the public domain. The potiental affects that these email could have on supplier and client relationship are large, and would be very hard to recover from.

Article retrieved from The New York Times online on April 3, 2011.