With all the kvetching about Web services security, are digital signatures just the thing that business need to finally embrace Web services? Or is this just a sad drop in the bucket? Tell us what you think about the potential for digitally signed SOAP messages in security.internet.
Supporting Digital Signatures Within SOAP Messages
Historically, digital signatures have handled the job of data validation and encryption in Web services. But new developments in XML specifications are improving security in SOAP messaging. Get the details on the specification changes and find out how to use them to enhance Web services security.
by Brenda Coulson
October 31, 2002
eb services is the latest wave in distributed computing. Its ability to connect clients and servers independent of platform, programming language, and transport protocol gives it great promise. The potential for businesses to conduct highly confidential and proprietary transactions, all the while being assured of the integrity and authenticity of their data. There would be a guarantee that the person sending the document is who they say they are and that the data has not been tampered with. Historically, digital signatures address these security concerns.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), one of the many specifications contributing to the success of Web services, is being positioned to replace EDI as the de-facto commercial B2B exchange. SOAP defines the XML document structure for sending Web service requests and responses. It is possible to send SOAP messages over the HTTPS protocol, providing encryption of the data. However, there are other security requirements to address if SOAP is to be completely embraced for B2B transactions.
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eb services is the latest wave in distributed computing. Its ability to connect clients and servers independent of platform, programming language, and transport protocol gives it great promise. The potential for businesses to conduct highly confidential and proprietary transactions, all the while being assured of the integrity and authenticity of their data. There would be a guarantee that the person sending the document is who they say they are and that the data has not been tampered with. Historically, digital signatures address these security concerns.
