Generic Hub for Secure Business System Access via Protocol Tunneling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web-based protocols, such as HTTP or HTTPS, are vulnerable to unauthorized access and data corruption due to known implementation bugs, necessitating a secure method for users to access application servers.
Innovation Solution
A generic hub is employed to verify user authorization, perform input validation, and tunnel requests from a first protocol (like HTTP) to a second, trusted protocol, enhancing security by separating zones with firewalls and eliminating the need for application-specific coding, thereby reducing development and test efforts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If open web standardized protocols such as HTTP or HTTPS are used for accessing business systems, then ease of operation and compatibility are improved, but security is worsened due to publicly known bugs that allow unauthorized infiltration
Solution Approach 1:
A generic hub is introduced as an intermediary component between users and application servers. The hub receives requests using standard HTTP protocols, validates them against security rules, and forwards approved requests to the backend. This mediator approach allows the system to maintain ease of operation with standard protocols while improving security through centralized validation and rule-based filtering of potentially harmful requests.
2Reliability
If a generic hub is introduced to validate and tunnel requests, then security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The generic hub is designed as a universal component that handles multiple functions: receiving HTTP requests, validating security rules, filtering input data, tunneling requests through firewalls, and forwarding to various application servers. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single multi-functional hub, the system improves security without proportionally increasing overall complexity, as the hub serves as a centralized security gateway for all backend services.
3Reliability
If zones are separated by firewalls and a generic hub is used, then security against unauthorized access is improved, but ease of operation worsens due to additional authentication requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The generic hub implements self-service authentication mechanisms by automatically validating user credentials and session information against stored security rules and access control lists. Rather than requiring manual authentication intervention for each request, the hub autonomously evaluates security policies, checks user authorization, and makes access decisions. This automated self-service approach maintains security while reducing operational burden on users and administrators.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method and system for increasing security when accessing a business system, a generic hub receives a request having a first transfer protocol from a user to access an application or application data maintained in an application server. In response to the user request, the generic hub verifies the authorization of the user to access the application server. If the user is authorized, a user interface to the application is presented to the user and input data is received from the user interface. The input data is checked for validity based on application-specific metadata and type checks bound to this metadata associated with fields in the user interface, and any extraneous or non-expected data is removed from the input data. The input data and user request of a first transfer protocol are tunneled to the application using a second transfer protocol.