Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security
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Archived NIST Technical Series Publication The attached publication has been archived (withdrawn), and is provided solely for historical purposes. It may have been superseded by another publication (indicated below). Archived Publication Series/Number: NIST Special Publication 800-45 Title: Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security Publication Date(s): September 2002 Withdrawal Date: February 2007 Withdrawal Note: SP 800-45 is superseded in its entirety by the publication of SP 800-45 Version 2 (February 2007). Superseding Publication(s) The attached publication has been superseded by the following publication(s): Series/Number: NIST Special Publication 800-45 Version 2 Title: Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security Author(s): Miles Tracy, Wayne Jansen, Karen Scarfone, Jason Butterfield Publication Date(s): February 2007 URL/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-45ver2 Additional Information (if applicable) Contact: Computer Security Division (Information Technology Lab) Latest revision of the SP 800-45 Version 2 (as of August 7, 2015) attached publication: Related information: http://csrc.nist.gov/ Withdrawal N/A announcement (link): Date updated: ƵŐƵƐƚϳ, 2015 Special Publication 800-45 Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Miles Tracy, Wayne Jansen, and Scott Bisker NIST Special Publication 800-45 Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Miles Tracy, Wayne Jansen, and Scott Bisker C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y Computer Security Division Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930 September 2002 U .S. Department of Commerce Donald L. Evans, Secretary Technology Administration Phillip J. Bond, Under Secretary for Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director ii Reports on Computer Systems Technology The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the Nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, proof of concept implementations, and technical analysis to advance the development and productive use of information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, administrative, and management standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer systems. This Special Publication 800-series reports on ITL’s research, guidance, and outreach efforts in computer security, and its collaborative activities with industry, government, and academic organizations. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-45 Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 800-45, xx pages (Mon. 2002) CODEN: XXXXX Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 2002 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov — Phone: (202) 512-1800 — Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001 iii Acknowledgements The authors, Wayne Jansen of NIST and Scot Bisker and Miles Tracy of Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), wish to express their thanks to colleagues at both organizations who reviewed drafts of this document. In particular, their appreciation goes to John Wack, Murugiah Souppaya, and Tim Grance from NIST, and Steve Allison, Alexis Feringa, Jonathan Holleran, Kevin Kuhlkin, and Mark Mclarnon from BAH, for their research, technical support, and written contributions to this document. The authors would also like to express their thanks to all those who contributed input during the public comment period and who assisted with our internal review process. iv Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................... ES-1 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................1 1.1 AUTHORITY...................................................................................................................1 1.2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE .....................................................................................................1 1.3 AUDIENCE AND ASSUMPTIONS.......................................................................................2 1.4 DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION...........................................................................................3 2. BACKGROUND AND STANDARDS.................................................................................4 2.1 BACKGROUND...............................................................................................................4 2.2 MULTIPURPOSE INTERNET MAIL EXTENSIONS ................................................................5 2.3 MAIL TRANSPORT STANDARDS......................................................................................6 2.4 SIMPLE MAIL TRANSFER PROTOCOL ..............................................................................6 2.5 SIMPLE MAIL TRANSFER PROTOCOL EXTENSIONS ..........................................................8 2.6 PROPRIETARY MAIL TRANSPORTS................................................................................ 10 2.7 CLIENT ACCESS STANDARDS ....................................................................................... 10 2.8 POST OFFICE PROTOCOL.............................................................................................. 10 2.9 INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL ...................................................................... 11 2.10 PROPRIETARY MAILBOX ACCESS MECHANISMS ........................................................... 13 3. EMAIL-RELATED ENCRYPTION STANDARDS........................................................... 14 3.1 PRETTY GOOD PRIVACY .............................................................................................. 15 3.2 S/MIME ..................................................................................................................... 17 3.3 CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM................................................ 18 3.4 KEY MANAGEMENT..................................................................................................... 19 3.5 CHOOSING BETWEEN PGP AND S/MIME..................................................................... 20 4. PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF MAIL SERVERS............................................... 21 4.1 PLANNING THE INSTALLATION AND DEPLOYMENT OF THE MAIL SERVER ...................... 21 4.2 SECURITY MANAGEMENT STAFF.................................................................................. 23 4.3 MANAGEMENT PRACTICES........................................................................................... 25 4.4 SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN ............................................................................................. 26 4.5 HUMAN RESOURCES FOR SECURING AN EMAIL SERVER................................................ 28 4.6 GENERAL INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY PRINCIPLES .............................................. 29 5. SECURING THE OPERATING SYSTEM......................................................................... 31 5.1 SECURELY INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING AN OPERATING SYSTEM ............................. 31 5.2 SECURITY TESTING THE OPERATING SYSTEM ............................................................... 35 5.3 RESOURCES FOR OPERATING SYSTEM SPECIFIC SECURITY PROCEDURES....................... 35 5.4 SECURING THE MAIL SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM CHECKLIST..................................... 36 6. MAIL SERVER AND CONTENT SECURITY.................................................................. 38 6.1 HARDENING THE MAIL SERVER APPLICATION .............................................................. 38 6.2 PROTECTING EMAIL FROM MALICIOUS CODE ............................................................... 40 6.3 UNSOLICITED BULK EMAIL.......................................................................................... 48 6.4 AUTHENTICATED MAIL RELAY .................................................................................... 49 v Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security 6.5 SECURE ACCESS.......................................................................................................... 49 6.6 ENABLING WEB ACCESS.............................................................................................. 50 6.7 MAIL SERVER AND CONTENT SECURITY CHECKLIST..................................................... 51 7. IMPLEMENTING A SECURE NETWORK FOR A MAIL SERVER................................ 53 7.1 NETWORK LOCATION .................................................................................................. 53 7.2 USING MAIL GATEWAYS ............................................................................................. 56 7.3 NETWORK ELEMENT