Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity

    Yahoo, Cisco Team on E-Mail Authentication

    By
    Matthew Hicks
    -
    June 1, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      SAN JOSE, Calif.—Yahoo and Cisco have joined forces to promote a cryptographic approach for authenticating e-mail in the battle against fraud and spam.

      The two companies announced Wednesday that they are combining their two separate authentication proposals into a new specification called DomainKeys Identified Mail, or DKIM, and are planning to propose it as a Web standard.

      Yahoo Inc. has been rallying around an approach it calls DomainKeys since late 2003, while Cisco Systems Inc. a year ago developed a authentication technology called Internet Identified Mail.

      Both use public key cryptography in an attempt to verify the sender of an e-mail to combat the fraud used in phishing attacks and spam.

      The merged specification, which has yet to be finalized, will combine DomainKeys method of verifying a sender at the level of the Internets DNS (Domain Name System) with the Identified Internet Mail specifications approach for maintaining the consistency of header signatures in messages as they transverse networks, said officials with the companies.

      “Conceptually the two [specifications] are very similar,” said Miles Libbey, anti-spam product manager for Yahoo Mail. “Both in their standalone versions had the ability to prevent forgery. By taking the best of both of them, we hope it increases those strengths.”

      Online attackers regularly send unsolicited e-mails and lure consumers into clicking malicious links or providing personal information by disguising their e-mail addresses with the domains of major consumer companies.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifRead more here about the rise of crypto techniques for e-mail authentication.

      Ciscos specification has been less visible in the industry than DomainKeys and a Microsoft Corp.-based authentication approach called Sender ID, according to analysts.

      Yahoos DomainKeys, in particular, has begun gaining adoption among e-mail and Internet service providers. Yahoo Mail, the largest Web-based e-mail service, started supporting DomainKeys authentication late last year. Other backers include EarthLink Inc. and Google Inc.s Gmail service.

      By collaborating on the merged specification, Yahoo and Cisco should be able to create more interest in the DKIM approach, said Richi Jennings, an analyst at San Francisco-based Ferris Research.

      “Its very good from the perspective that now there are only two and a half e-mail authentication schemes to think about rather than three and a half,” Jennings said, who was counting the earlier merger of Sender ID with an approach called SPF (Sender Policy Framework) as slightly more than a single specification.

      Yahoo and Cisco also are moving to make DKIM into a Web standard. The authors of the specification are working to submit a final specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force in time for the standards bodys meeting in Paris, which opens on July 31, said Jim Fenton, a distinguished engineer at Cisco.

      Along with representatives from Cisco and Yahoo, the authors of the DKIM specification include representatives from Sendmail Inc. and PGP Corp., Fenton said.

      Sender ID also was considered as part of the IETFs MARID (MTA Authorization Records In DNS) working group, but that standards effort largely collapsed in September. Among the problems were concerns that Microsoft Corp. patents could potentially cover parts of the specification, and open-source objections to licensing requirements.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifRead more here about the industrys reaction to MARIDs collapse.

      In their announcement, Yahoo and Cisco vowed to offer the merged DomainKeys and Identified Internet Mail specification to the industry at large and without seeking royalties. The license for DKIM will be similar to the DomainKeys license, Libbey said.

      “The whole point of this is to gain industry adoption, so it is important to make sure the license is available to the entire industry,” Libbey said.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest security news, reviews and analysis. And for insights on security coverage around the Web, take a look at eWEEK.com Security Center Editor Larry Seltzers Weblog.

      Matthew Hicks
      As an online reporter for eWEEK.com, Matt Hicks covers the fast-changing developments in Internet technologies. His coverage includes the growing field of Web conferencing software and services. With eight years as a business and technology journalist, Matt has gained insight into the market strategies of IT vendors as well as the needs of enterprise IT managers. He joined Ziff Davis in 1999 as a staff writer for the former Strategies section of eWEEK, where he wrote in-depth features about corporate strategies for e-business and enterprise software. In 2002, he moved to the News department at the magazine as a senior writer specializing in coverage of database software and enterprise networking. Later that year Matt started a yearlong fellowship in Washington, DC, after being awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship for Journalist. As a fellow, he spent nine months working on policy issues, including technology policy, in for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He rejoined Ziff Davis in August 2003 as a reporter dedicated to online coverage for eWEEK.com. Along with Web conferencing, he follows search engines, Web browsers, speech technology and the Internet domain-naming system.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×