Asymmetric Ciphers - Randall Harrell Rasmussen University

asymmetric Ciphers Randall Harrell Rasmussen University CIS4028C Cryptog

Medical Wise has decided to implement a text message system to read and download their medical records to serve their customers better. This will require customers to provide private and personally identifiable information (PII) to track their requests. A risk assessment is needed to determine the appropriate encryption level to protect this information.

PII includes any data that can potentially identify an individual, whether sensitive or non-sensitive. Sensitive information, such as health data, financial details, social security numbers, or biometrics, can cause harm if compromised, whereas non-sensitive data is publicly available or does not pose a risk if exposed. Protecting sensitive PII is critical for maintaining privacy and complying with regulations.

To secure the transmission and storage of PII, Medical Wise is considering the use of asymmetric cryptography, also known as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Asymmetric cryptography employs a pair of keys: a public key, which can be shared openly, and a private key, which must be kept secret. Data encrypted with one key can only be decrypted with the other, ensuring confidentiality and authentication. This system supports secure exchange of information by verifying identities and encrypting sensitive data.

PKI provides crucial capabilities such as key distribution, verification, and revocation through digital certificates. These certificates link public keys with the identities they represent, allowing organizations like Medical Wise to confidently authenticate users and devices. Effective PKI implementation requires adherence to standards like those outlined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), emphasizing aspects such as ease of use, user authentication, security, legal validity, and certificate management, including revocation lists.

In practice, PKI enhances security through access control, mutual authentication, and secure updates. It enables systems to determine user access rights based on verifiable identities, revoke access if a certificate is compromised, and facilitate mutual authentication between clients and servers. For example, in this context, users and the system can authenticate each other during interactions, reducing impersonation risks and ensuring data integrity.

Furthermore, PKI supports secure over-the-air (OTA) updates, whereby devices only accept updates from trusted, verified sources. This reduces the risk of malicious or untested updates that could compromise device security or integrity. Additionally, PKI's ability to revoke compromised certificates promptly ensures ongoing control over who can access sensitive data or systems.

Despite its many advantages, PKI implementation involves significant challenges. The cryptographic processes are computationally intensive, which can lead to increased processing times and latency—especially problematic in large-scale deployments with numerous users and devices. Additionally, safeguarding the private key is paramount; if it is compromised, the entire security framework is jeopardized. Proper key management, including secure storage and regular rotation, is essential to mitigate this risk.

Given these considerations, the benefits of PKI align well with Medical Wise's needs for a secure, user-friendly, and manageable system to protect PII within their text messaging platform. The ability to provide mutual authentication, revoke access swiftly, and maintain secure communications makes PKI a compelling choice for safeguarding sensitive medical and personal data.

In conclusion, asymmetric cryptography and PKI offer a robust framework for protecting PII in electronic communications. While there are challenges related to processing demands and key security, the security priorities—confidentiality, integrity, and authentication—are best served through this infrastructure. Implementing PKI will significantly mitigate risks associated with data breaches, identity theft, and tampering, thereby ensuring Medical Wise can deliver secure and reliable services to its customers while maintaining compliance with applicable privacy regulations.

Paper For Above instruction

Implementing a secure messaging system that handles sensitive medical records necessitates a comprehensive understanding of data protection strategies, particularly encryption methodologies. Among these, asymmetric cryptography, or PKI, stands out as the optimal solution due to its robust security features, including key management, authentication, and revocation capabilities. This paper explores the importance of protecting personally identifiable information (PII), the principles of asymmetric cryptography, the role of PKI, and the practical considerations associated with deploying such a system within Medical Wise's operational framework.

PII encompasses any data that can identify an individual, such as social security numbers, biometric data, health information, or financial details. The distinction between sensitive and non-sensitive information guides the level of protection required. Sensitive data, capable of causing harm if compromised, must be encrypted and handled with stringent security measures to ensure privacy and regulatory compliance. Non-sensitive data, often publicly accessible, does not demand the same level of protection, thereby optimizing system efficiency by focusing encryption efforts on critical information.

Asymmetric cryptography leverages a pair of mathematically related keys—public and private—to facilitate secure communication. Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted with the private key, and vice versa. This mechanism enables secure message exchange without requiring the sender and receiver to share secret keys beforehand. The public key can be distributed openly, simplifying key management and distribution across diverse users and devices. PKI enhances this model by providing a trusted framework where keys are associated with verified identities via digital certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA).

The role of PKI is to manage the lifecycle of cryptographic keys and certificates, ensuring safe distribution, validation, and revocation mechanisms. PKI's infrastructure allows for seamless key management, enabling organizations to maintain the integrity and trustworthiness of cryptographic operations. By linking public keys with verified identities, PKI fosters mutual authentication between users and systems, which is vital for protecting sensitive health information transmitted over digital channels.

Practical implementation of PKI within Medical Wise's messaging system involves adhering to strict standards, such as those outlined by NIST, emphasizing usability, security, and legal validity. The system must incorporate certificate issuance, renewal, revocation, and validation processes that are manageable for both administrators and users. Ease of use is essential to encourage widespread adoption, while robust security practices safeguard private keys and prevent unauthorized access.

PKI facilitates multiple security enhancements in the environment. Access control mechanisms leverage digital certificates to authorize users and devices, ensuring only legitimate entities access sensitive data. Mutual authentication verifies the identities of both communicating parties, reducing impersonation risks. Secure OTA updates guarantee that software and firmware are received from trusted sources, reducing vulnerabilities associated with unverified updates.

However, deploying PKI is not without challenges. The computational load associated with cryptographic operations can impact system performance, especially in environments with high volumes of transactions or constrained hardware resources. Efficient algorithms and hardware acceleration can mitigate these issues, but organizations must plan for potential scalability concerns. Equally critical is the security of private keys. Loss or compromise of a private key undermines the entire system integrity, necessitating strict safeguards such as hardware security modules (HSMs) and routine key rotation policies.

Given the sensitive nature of medical records and PII, the advantages of implementing PKI outweigh these challenges. The infrastructure's capacity for strong authentication, secure data transmission, and controlled access aligns with Medical Wise's goals of safeguarding customer data while maintaining operational efficiency. The ability to revoke access swiftly safeguards against breach escalations, and mutual authentication enhances trust between patients and healthcare providers.

In conclusion, asymmetric cryptography through PKI offers a highly effective security framework for protecting PII in digital health services. Despite the complexity and resource demands, the benefits—increased security, trustworthiness, and compliance—make PKI the ideal choice for Medical Wise's secure messaging system. Proper planning, adherence to standards, and investment in robust key management practices will enable successful deployment and long-term security assurance, ultimately fostering patient confidence and organizational integrity.

References

• Ellison, C., & Schneier, B. (2000). Risks of PKI: Secure Email. Communications of the ACM, 43(1). https://doi.org/10.1145/323830.323850
• Khan, S., Zhang, Z., Zhu, L., Li, M., Khan Safi, Q. G., & Chen, X. (2018). Accountable and Transparent TLS Certificate Management: An Alternate Public-Key Infrastructure with Verifiable Trusted Parties. Security & Communication Networks, 1–16.
• Rouse, M. (n.d.). What is personally identifiable information (PII)? Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/personally-identifiable-information-PII
• Rouse, M., Loshin, P., & Cobb, M. (n.d.). What is PKI (public key infrastructure)? Retrieved October 15, 2019, from https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/public-key-infrastructure-PKI
• Dam, K. W., & Lin, H. S. (1996). Cryptography's role in securing the information society. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
• Ih, R. (2017, October 3). 3 Benefits of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Retrieved October 18, 2019, from https://blog.ihc.com/3-benefits-public-key-infrastructure-pki/
• Cooper, M. (2018, May 14). PKI explained: why it is necessary and relevant now more than ever. Retrieved October 18, 2019, from https://www.ciphertrust.com/blog/pki-explained-necessary-relevant
• Cooper, M. (2019, February 8). The benefits of correctly deploying a PKI solution. Retrieved from https://www.techradar.com/news/the-benefits-of-correctly-deploying-a-pki-solution
• Wood, D. (2002, March 26). PKI—What, Why, and How. Retrieved from https://www.sans.org/white-papers/764/
• “This study source was downloaded by from CourseHero.com on :39:15 GMT -05:00” – sample of citation placeholder not included in final references