A group of networking and messaging vendors, in conjunction with Redwood City, California-based cryptography developer RSA Data Security Inc, has endorsed a specification that will enable encrypted messages to be exchanged between electronic mail applications from different vendors. The specification, Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions S/MIME, should enable vendors to independently develop interoperable RSA-based security for their electronic mail systems, so that an S/MIME message composed and encrypted on one vendor’s application can be decrypted on another. It is based on the Internet Multipart Internet Message Extension standard that provides a general structure for the content type of Internet mail messages and enables extensions for new content type applications, such as security. S/MIME is based on the Public Key Cryptography Standards established by a consortium comprising RSA Data, Microsoft Corp, Lotus Development Corp, Apple Computer Inc, Novell Inc, Digital Equipment Corp, Sun Microsyste ms Inc and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991. The specifications enable developers to develop secure applications independently that will interoperate with other similarly-secured applications. Vendors endorsing S/MIME include Microsoft, Lotus, Banyan Systems Inc, VeriSign Inc, ConnectSoft Inc, FTP Software Inc, Qualcomm Inc, Frontier Technologies Corp, Network Computing Devices Inc, Wollongong Group Inc, SecureWare Inc and RSA. Several plan to release S/MIME-compliant kit this quarter. Developers can pick up more information at RSA’s Web site, at http://www.rsa.com.
