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CMS-S/MIME

IAIK-CMS with S/MIMEv3 is a library for the Java™ platform that implements the IETF approved CMS (Cryptographic Message Synatx, RFC 3852 , RFC 5652 ), S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions Version 3, RFC 3851 ) and ESS (Enhanced Security Services for S/MIME, RFC 2634 ) protocols.

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CMS is the IETF standardized successor of the PKCS7v1.5 protocol developed by RSA Inc.. It specifies several cryptographic mechanisms for digitally signing, digesting, authenticating or encrypting any kind of data. As main difference to PKCS#7, CMS takes care of algorithm independence and introduces additional content formats and processing rules.

S/MIMEv3 is the IETF standardized successor of the S/MIMEv2 protocol developed by RSA Inc . It uses the cryptographic mechanisms specified by CMS for securing MIME formatted messages. As S/MIMEv2 already has been some kind of industry standard for secure email transfer over the internet, S/MIMEv3 adopts the amendments of CMS for becoming an internet standard. Today any notable email client like Netscape/Mozilla Messenger or Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express is able to speak S/MIME.

ESS enhances the S/MIME protocol about some additional security services that are based on the Secure Data Network System (SDNS) Message Security Protocol of the NSA, but maybe useful in many other environments, particularly business and finance applications, too.

As CMS succeeds PKCS#7v1.5 and S/MIMEv3 succeeds S/MIMEv2, IAIK-CMS with S/MIMEv3 is the successor library of the PKCS#7 implementation of IAIK-JCE and the S/MIMEv2 implementation of IAIK-SMIME. IAIK-CMS operates on top of the IAIK-JCE API, which is included in the license. As for IAIK-JCE, we provide Applet and WebStart Editions for IAIK-CMS, too.

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Prices and Conditions

For current prices of IAIK-CMS, please see our price list and license conditions .
IAIK-CMS is free for educational and research prurposes, please see our educational/research license conditions.