For the uninitiated, Dr Elgamal invented the Elgamal signature scheme which became the basis for Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as the Digital Signature Standard (DSS).

Some excerpts from the interview:

In the current online threat scenario does SSL still offer a high level of security? Also how has the threat scenario changed over the years?
The design of SSL only allows it to secure the pipe. Will use of SSL to protect everything online work? The answer is “No”. Though there have been advancements such as changes in key sizes and mechanisms such as MDS cipher to improve encryption, SSL was designed to protect only a certain part of the online transaction and can only do so.

If you look at the way threats to digital information have evolved, the highest level of threat felt 15 years ago was from insiders who knew how the system works and could thus exploit it to extract sensitive information. With the evolution of the Internet, the threat from outsiders increased multifold. Initially attackers were young programmers who targeted systems to steal passwords or other information, or broke into the system to display their skills or to create a certain level of attack.

This has now transformed into organized crime wherein individuals with such skills are attacking as a group or are hired by other criminals, stealing information and even identities. Today two hackers talk to each other and come up with a threat. CIOs, especially those of financial institutions, need to come together and collaborate with each other on mechanisms to fight these threats.