Overview of Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)

Study Notes

Overview of Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) Protocol

SET is a protocol designed for secure online credit card transactions.
It aims to protect sensitive financial data during transmission over the internet.
It's a layered protocol, incorporating cryptography and digital signature techniques.
It prevents fraudulent activities by encrypting data and authenticating parties involved.
SET is largely considered obsolete in favor of newer, more adaptable, and efficient methods.

Key Components of SET

Digital Certificates: Used to verify the identity of parties involved in the transaction (merchant, bank, cardholder).
Digital Signatures: Cryptographic methods used to authenticate the origin and integrity of data exchanged.
Encryption: Data encryption ensures that sensitive information (credit card numbers, CVV codes) is unreadable by unauthorized parties.
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS): While not a direct part of SET, PCI DSS is a set of security standards often implemented by businesses that use SET or similar protocols.

SET Transaction Process

Cardholder authentication: Mechanisms to verify the cardholder's identity and authorization.
Merchant authentication: Mechanisms to verify the merchant's identity and legitimacy.
Secure message transfer: Encrypts and securely transmits messages between the involved parties.
Transaction authorization: The process of authorization of the payment from the cardholder's account.
Transaction data validation: Verification of data for accuracy and completeness throughout the transaction.

Advantages of SET

Enhanced security: Provides a robust framework to protect financial information during transmission.
Fraud prevention: Strong authentication and encryption help reduce fraudulent transactions.
Trust and reliability: Creates a secure payment environment that instills trust in online transactions.

Disadvantages of SET

Complexity: Implementing and maintaining a SET-based system can be complex, demanding specialized technical skills.
Compatibility Issues: The protocol could encounter compatibility problems with varying systems and browsers.
High implementation cost: Setting up a SET infrastructure can be expensive due to required security infrastructure.
Adoption challenges: While SET offered a secure framework, its implementation required significant effort that made large-scale adoption difficult.
Decline in use: Newer, more efficient, and easily adapted technologies have largely replaced the need for SET.

Cryptographic Techniques Used in SET

Public-key cryptography: Used for key exchange and digital signatures.
Symmetric-key cryptography: Employs a single shared key for encryption and decryption, typically used for data encryption.
Hash functions: Generate a unique 'fingerprint' of the data to ensure data integrity.
Message authentication codes (MACs): Validate both message integrity and authenticity.

Current Status and Relevance

The broad adoption of other online payment systems, including newer technologies and protocols, has largely diminished the use and necessity of the SET protocol.
While sophisticated in its design, SET's complexity and infrastructure requirements proved less adaptable to the evolving needs of the e-commerce landscape.
Modern secure payment systems have built upon the concept of the core principles of SET without the significant maintenance burden.

Description

This quiz explores the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol, designed to secure online credit card transactions. It covers key components such as digital certificates, signatures, and encryption techniques that protect sensitive financial data during transmission. Understand why SET is considered obsolete and the advancements in secure payment methods.