S/MIME provides the user with the ability to digitally sign and encrypt email messages, to verify the digital signatures on received messages, and to decrypt messages received from others if those messages are encrypted. Digital signatures provide strong cryptographic assurance of the authenticity and integrity of the signed message, including attachments. This capability protects against the insertion of malicious mobile code and social engineering attacks in which an adversary masquerades as a known user, as well as other exploits. Encryption provides confidentiality for sensitive information, which is particularly valuable when messages are sent to or received from users external to DoD messaging infrastructure, as such messages would otherwise travel in the clear over the public Internet. The use of software certificates adds additional risk of compromise to the user's digital certificates and to the DoD PKI infrastructure. DoD PKI certificates may not be provisioned in the native mobile operating system certificate store unless the certificate is protected with a valid FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic module. |