Java Security

Java's most striking claim is that it provides a secure programming environment. However, despite lots of discussion, few people understand precisely what Java's claims mean and how it backs up those claims. Java Security is an in-depth exploration aimed at Java's security mechanisms. It discusses in detail what security means and doesn't and doesn't mean, what Java's default security policies are, and how to create and implement your own policies.

In doing so, Java Security provides detailed coverage of security managers, class loaders, the access controller, and much of the java.security package. It discusses message digests, certificates, and digital signatures, showing you how to use Java's facilities for signing classes or implement your own signature facility. It also shows you how to write a class loader that recognizes suígned classes, verifies the signature, and cooperates with a security manager to grant additional privileges. It discusses the problem of managing cryptographic keys and shows you how to implement your own key management systems.

Java Security is an essential book for everyone writing real-world software for the Internet. If you're deploying software written in Java, you need to know how to grant your class the privileges they need, without granting privileges to untrusted classes. You need to know how to protect your systems against intrusion and corruption. Java provides the tools; this book shows you how to use them.

Covers Java 1.1 and Java 2.

1. Java Application Security
• What Is Security?
• The Java Sandbox
• Applications, Applets, and Programs
• Running a Java Application
• Summary
2. Java Language Security
• Java Language Security Constructs
• Enforcement of the Java Language Rules
• Summary
3. Java Class Loaders
• Security and the Class Loader
• Anatomy of a Class Loader
• Loading Classes
• Implementing a Class Loader
• Extensions to the Class Loader
• Miscellaneous Class Loading Topics
• Summary
4. The Security Manager Class
• Overview of the Security Manager
• Trusted and Untrusted Classes
• Using the Security Managers
• Summary
5. The Access Controller
• The CodeSource Class
• Permissions
• The Policy Class
• Protection Domains
• The AccessController Class
• Guarded Objects
• Summary
6. Implementing Security Policies
• Protected Methods of the Security Manager
• Security Managers and the Class Loader
• Implementation Techniques
• Running Secure Applications
• Summary
7. Introduction to Cryptography
• The Need for Authentication
• The Role of Authentication
• Cryptographic Engines
• Summary
8. Security Providers
• The Architecture of Security Providers
• The Provider Class
• The Security Class
• The Architecture of Engine Class
• Summary
9. Message Digests
• Using the Message Digest Class
• Message Digest Streams
• Implementing a MessageDigest Class
• Summary
10. Keys and Certificates
• Keys
• The KeyPairGenerator Class
• The KeyFactory Class
• Certificates
• Keys, Certificates, and Object Serialization
• Summary
11. Key Management
• Overview of Key Management
• The KeyStore Class
• A Key Management Example
• Summary
12. Digital Signatures
• The Signature Class
• Signed Classes
• Implementing a Signature Class
• Summary
13. Encryption
• Export Restrictions
• The Sun Security Provider in the JCE
• Key Types in the JCE
• Secret Key Engines
• Encrypting Data
• Cipher Streams
• Symmetric Key Agreement
• Sealed Objects
• Summary

1. Security Tools
2. Identity-Based Key Management
3. Security Resources
4. Quick Reference

The basics of Java security APIs and services. Pretty boringly written.