Securing Java Web Applications

Delivery Options

• Customized Onsite Training (3 days): Request a Proposal

Class Description

Class Overview

Class Goals

• Generally, be prepared to develop secure Java web applications, or to secure existing applications by refactoring as necessary.
• Define security constraints and login configurations that instruct the web container to enforce authentication and authorization policies.
• Validate user input aggressively, for general application health and specifically to foil injection and XSS attacks.
• Configure a server and/or application to use one-way or two-way HTTPS.
• Apply application-level cryptography where necessary.
• Secure log files and establish audit trails for especially sensitive information or actions.

Class Outline

1. Secure Web Applications
   1. Threats and Attack Vectors
   2. Server, Network, and Browser Vulnerabilities
   3. Secure Design Principles
   4. GET vs. POST
   5. Container Authentication and Authorization
   6. HTML Forms
   7. Privacy Under /WEB-INF
   8. HTTP and HTTPS
   9. Other Cryptographic Practices
   10. SOA and Web Services
   11. The OWASP Top 10
2. Authentication and Authorization
   1. HTTP BASIC and DIGEST Authentication Schemes
   2. Declaring Security Constraints
   3. User Accounts
   4. Safeguarding Credentials in Transit
   5. Replay Attacks
   6. Authorization Over URL Patterns
   7. Roles
   8. FORM Authentication
   9. Login Form Design
   10. EJB Authorization
   11. Programmatic Security
   12. Programmatic Security in JSF
3. Secure Application Design
   1. Single Points of Decision
   2. Cross-Site Scripting
   3. Validation vs. Output Escaping
   4. Forceful Browsing
   5. Cross-Site Request Forgery
   6. Request Tokens
   7. Injection Attacks
   8. Protections in JDBC and JPA
   9. Session Management
   10. Taking Care of Cookies
   11. Validating User Input
   12. Validation Practices
   13. Regular Expressions
   14. JSF Validation
4. HTTPS and Certificates
   1. Digital Cryptography
   2. Encryption
   3. SSL and Secure Key Exchange
   4. Hashing
   5. Signature
   6. Keystores
   7. keytool
   8. Why Keys Aren't Enough
   9. X.509 Certificates
   10. Certificate Authorities
   11. Obtaining a Signed Certificate
   12. Configuring HTTPS
   13. Client-Side Certificates and Two-Way SSL
   14. PKCS #12 and Trust Stores
   15. CLIENT-CERT Authentication
5. Application-Level Cryptography
   1. The Java Cryptography Architecture
   2. Secure Random Number Generation
   3. The KeyStore API
   4. The Signature Class
   5. The SignedObject Class
   6. The MessageDigest Class
   7. The Java Cryptography Extensions
   8. The SecretKey and KeyGenerator Types
   9. The Cipher Class
   10. Choosing Algorithms and Key Sizes
   11. Dangerous Practices
6. Secure Development Practices
   1. Secure Development Cycle
   2. Error Handling and Information Leakage
   3. Failing to a Secure Mode
   4. Logging Practices
   5. Appropriate Content for Logs
   6. Auditing
   7. Strategies: Filters, Interceptors, and Command Chains
   8. Penetration Testing
   9. Back Doors

Class Materials

Each student in our Live Online and our Onsite classes receives a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all the class examples.

Class Prerequisites

Experience in the following areas is required:

• Java programming experience is essential
• Servlets programming experience is required
• JSP page-authoring experience is recommended but not required

Technical Requirements

Our computer technical requirements and setup process is easy, with support just a click away.

• Onsite and Instructor-led Online course technical requirements and setup instructions.
• WebEx system requirements for Instructor-led Online delivery option.