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List:       vpn
Subject:    Re: Press releases we never finished reading
From:       Rick Smith <rick_smith () securecomputing ! com>
Date:       1998-05-26 21:07:10
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At 11:56 AM -0600 5/26/98, Gary R. Wolfe wrote:

>this is exactly my reason for being so picky about the SVPN term. I have seen
>all kinds of things called VPN and the customer has a hard time
>differentiating. If we take a stand and get the industry and manufacturers to
>use SVPN only with encryption we make everyones' life easier and safer.

"Secure" tends to be a relative term in practice, so "secure VPN" will
eventually become the same as "VPN" in the mouths of vendors regardless of
anyone's intent.

If we need to establish a term for a VPN incorporating cryptographic
protections, then "crypto VPN" or "encrypted VPN" is more likely to work
long term. Vendors will have a much harder time arguing that their "crypto
VPN" deserves that label if it doesn't include any crypto.

Personally, I think it's more interesting to talk about "crypto" VPNs than
"encrypted" VPNs because "crypto" covers just about any type of protection
that involves keying. "Encrypted VPN" seems like it would be more narrow,
and in theory could protect against data disclosure but not protect against
data modification.

Rick.
smith@securecomputing.com


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