Reference no: EM133812873

You will concentrate on digital signatures and public-key certificates.

To prepare:

- Review the Assignment introduction and the Assignment tasks you will complete for Week 7. Note: You must provide screenshots for all major steps.

- Confirm the students you are collaborating with for this Assignment. Keep in mind that you are Student A for your Assignment and should have colleagues designated as Student B and Student C. You may also serve as Student B and/or Student C for other colleagues. Be prepared to fill these roles and complete the Assignment by Day 7 this week.

Introduction:

When you import a user's public key, it is not trusted. For example, [email protected]'s public key in Figure 1's GPG keychain (shown below) is not trusted.

There are two ways to make a key trusted. One way is to sign it directly using your private key. But in this case, you need to know that the key is indeed from Alice. In Figure 1, the user (Yongge Wang) has signed Bill Wang's public key. Thus, the GPG keychain in Figure 1 shows that Bill Wang's public key is trusted. Hire Writers Now!

There is another way to use a certificate chain to make a key trusted. That is, the user (Yongge Wang) trusted Bill Wang's key. Bill Wang trusted George Wang's key by signing it. Then if the user (Yongge Wang) imports George Wang's key (signed by Bill Wang), the user's (Yongge Wang's) GPG keychain will trust George Wang's key.

Assignment Tasks:

Question 1. Digital message signature: Send an email to your Instructor containing at least one message signed with your private key and ask your Instructor to verify whether your signature on the message is valid. The message should not be encrypted, i.e., the format is a clear message with a signature on the message.

Question 2. Certificate chain: To complete this part, each student (Student A) needs to sign another student's (Student B) public key. Student B then needs to sign another student's (Student C) public key. Student A needs to import Student C's key (that is signed by Student B). Then Student A's screen should show that Student C's key is trusted. (Student A must not sign Student C's key; you will not get a grade if all keys are signed by you.) Then Student C should send a signed email to Student A, and Student A's email client should automatically verify it.

Submit a 3- to 5-page report in Microsoft Word and APA format that includes the following:
- Describe in detail the steps you have taken as Student A, with screenshots of all major steps. Ensure your report contains:

1. The messages that you signed and sent to others.

2. The signed messages that you have received from others and for which you have verified the signatures.

3. Student B's public key that you have signed.

4. Student C's public key that you have not signed, but which is signed by Student B.

5. GPG keychain screenshot that shows that Student C's key is trusted by you (validity part is green).

6. Expanded key property for Student C's public key that shows you have not signed C's key.

7. A signed message from Student C that your email client shows the signature is valid.

Your document should be 3-5 pages long (not including the title page or reference list) but the quality of the work is most important, not the number of pages. Cite and reference all sources using APA format and style guidelines. Submit in a single document.