ITJuju.com

The following is an extract taken form my up comming security report.

….

When you connect to say your Bank to access your account online. A secure connection is setup between your computer and the computer it is accessing your account on.

This is what should happen, if your Bank doesn’t do encrypted connections when your accessing your account online – then move to one that does.

Anyway, this secure connection is usually referred to as a secure tunnel, as in the tunnels you drive through or walk through.

This tunnel idea is completely misleading in my opinion.

The way it works is the equivalent of taking a pice of paper that contains the information your sending to the bank – be it a click on a link to request a new page or adding typed information.

Then shredding that paper, taking each bit and placing them in individual safes and then sending those safes in different directions – all heading for the same location.

Then at the other end, the safes are opened, the shredded bits of paper are put back together and the information is read. Information sent to you is done in the same way.

My description above of the secure connection process has a far grater basis in reality then the tunnel metaphor – which isn’t even a good metaphor to begin with.

As most tunnels, especial those that go under water leak, a good example is the Channel tunnel connecting the UK and France.

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What would you rather have:

A leaky tunnel where all the information is seen in one place.

Or

Information shredded and each bit sent in it’s own safe.

I know which metaphor I prefer.