Browser Integrity Verification for Trustworthy Web Applications
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing web applications lack efficient methods to verify their trustworthiness before interacting with web servers, leading to potential fraudulent or malicious activities.
Innovation Solution
A browser integrates an integrity element, such as a cryptographic hash or digital signature, into a request sent to a web server to verify the trustworthiness of the web application, ensuring the code has not been modified and originates from a trusted source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If web applications interact with web servers without integrity verification, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential fraudulent or malicious activities
Solution Approach 1:
The browser performs preliminary integrity verification by calculating the cryptographic hash of the web application code and comparing it against the trusted hash value embedded in the integrity element before the web application interacts with the server. This advance verification ensures that only trustworthy code executes, preventing fraudulent activities while maintaining ease of operation for legitimate applications.
2Reliability
If integrity verification is implemented, then reliability is improved, but device complexity worsens due to additional verification mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The browser performs self-service integrity verification by autonomously calculating cryptographic hashes and comparing them against trusted values embedded in the integrity elements. The verification process is automatically triggered when the browser encounters an integrity element, requiring no additional user action or complex external verification systems, thus improving reliability while minimizing added complexity.
3Reliability
If cryptographic hash verification is performed, then reliability is improved, but loss of time worsens due to additional processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The browser optimizes verification speed by utilizing hardware acceleration for cryptographic hash calculations and implementing efficient comparison algorithms. The integrity verification process is integrated into the existing code loading pipeline, allowing parallel processing where possible, thus maintaining high reliability while minimizing the time penalty associated with verification.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to verifying the trustworthiness of web applications. In one aspect, a method includes obtaining, by a browser of a client device, an electronic resource comprising code for a web application. The browser renders the electronic resource, including processing the code of the web application. The code causes the browser to initiate a request to a remote server. In response to processing the code, the request is generated and modified to include at least a portion of an integrity element for the web application. The modified request is sent to the remote server. A response to the request is received from the remote server. The response is based on the remote server verifying that the web application is trustworthy using the integrity element. Data is displayed based on the response.