G 0.37 Denial of Actions

People can deny having committed certain actions for various reasons, for example because these actions violate instructions, security policies, or even laws. They could also deny having received a notification, for example because they forgot an appointment. In the field of information security, non-repudiation (the property of being non-deniable) is therefore frequently emphasized, a characteristic that is intended to ensure that actions that have taken place cannot be unjustifiably denied.

In communication, a further distinction is made between whether communication participants deny message receipt (Repudiation of Receipt) or transmission (Repudiation of Origin). Denying message receipt can be significant, among other things, in financial transactions, for example when someone claims not to have received an invoice in time. Likewise, communication participants can deny message transmission, for example denying a purchase order that was placed. Message transmission or receipt can be denied with postal mail just as much as with fax or email use.

Example:

• An urgently needed spare part is ordered electronically. After a week, its absence is complained about; in the meantime, high costs have been incurred due to production downtime. The supplying company denies ever having received an order.