Caveat Lector: Authentication, the Forgotten, Should-be Predominant

Over at windowsecurity.com there is an article today on Caveat Lector: Authentication, the Forgotten, Should-be Predominant. In it, the author discusses the concept of integrity preservation, through the use of Message Authentication Code (MAC). The article defines what it is, what it does, and why it's vital in the majority of cases, although often overlooked in most of them.

It's a pretty good read. It's rare these days that I come across articles where the author gets it that when designing secure channels of communication that you need BOTH confidentiality and integrity. And I think his final word sums it up for me... "If you find yourself habitually applying authentication wherever encryption exists, then hats off to you." I'll add that if you don't, perhaps you need to go read the article.

Happy reading.