S/MIME and PGP differences

For email security , we are faced with 2 common methods. I will provide a One on One comparison of some of the differences between there two.

S/MINE

chain of trust via CA ( the trusted-body approach )

easier to intergrated into most mail systems ( windows for example )

if any part of the CA chain is compromised, the  whole chain is compromised

certicates based on x.509

lifetime is based on certificate expiration ( you will have to buy and renew certificates )

no such thing as  certification distribution , it  uses the CA root model ( hierachical )

cost money ( MTA server, certificates ,etc…..)

secured

supports for MIME attachment only

RSA public-key

cipher supported is less than Gpg

PGP ( GNUpg )

not centralize to any one CA  or root-authority

not as easy to implement in most mail systems

not an issue with PGP

non x509 compliant

PGP  by earlier implementations, had a  lifetime of forever

public-key  distribution via manual distribution,  or keyservers

with GPG is 's 100%  free

more secured due to be decentralized ( <-- my opinion )

does mail encryption,  and much more ( e.g disk encryption )

supports RSA, DH,Elgamal,etc….

cipher support is slightly more than what  s/MIME clients support

Both methods provides the end-user  with  security,  and  closes the gap within the SSL/TLS island, as mention before in some of my earlier  postings. How secure one over the other, really depends on if you believe in the CA model or web-of-trust. Since the CA models builds  reputation  & trust via  a selected authority, it places all security risk within that authority & delegation. e.g What-if a CA is compromised What-if a CA has a forged certificate  What-if they are working being the scenes with the gov and selling you and me out ;)
Past history has seen problems within a central CA root authority. ( look at past incidents with google, comodo, dignotar   ....for examples )  In conclusion; Mail security show not be taken lightly. With email still being a main method for the delivery of information along with data.We should always think of security & within our daily email practices.  Ken Felix Freelance Network / Security Engineer kfelix  ----a---t---socpuppets ---d---o---t---com      ^      ^ =(   ^   ^  )=           o        /     \