Security Proxy for Enterprise Widget Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional applications accessing secured backend systems must handle security credentials directly, introducing security risks and requiring redundant implementation of authentication services, while lightweight widgets lack the capability to connect securely to such systems.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a security proxy that injects authentication information into requests from end-user applications, such as enterprise widgets, to access backend servers, thereby isolating security risks and eliminating the need for self-contained security solutions within these applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional applications directly handle security credentials to access backend systems, then authentication capability is achieved, but security risks increase and redundant authentication implementation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts security credential handling from individual applications and centralizes it in a gateway component. Applications no longer directly handle security credentials; instead, they send requests to the gateway which manages authentication centrally, eliminating redundant authentication code in each application and reducing security risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway acts as an intermediary between applications and the backend system. It mediates authentication by receiving requests from applications, injecting necessary security credentials, and forwarding authenticated requests to the backend, thereby isolating applications from direct security credential exposure.
2Ease of operation
If lightweight widgets are designed for portability and simplicity, then ease of deployment is improved, but capability to connect securely to backend systems is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway provides universal security services that enable different types of applications including lightweight widgets to access backend systems securely. Rather than requiring each widget to implement its own security, the gateway offers a unified authentication mechanism that works across all application types, maintaining widget simplicity while enabling secure connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway automatically performs security credential injection and authentication management without requiring security implementation in the widgets themselves. Widgets simply send requests to the gateway, which handles all security-related operations autonomously, allowing widgets to remain lightweight while gaining secure backend access capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses enable a service mediator to provide security proxying services to an end-user application requesting a backend service of an enterprise network. The end-user application generates a request for a service of the backend system. The request does not have sufficient security information to enable access to the backend system. The service mediator can detect that one or more items of required security information are not present in the request and injects the necessary security information into the request. The end-user application need not even have access to the security information or even be aware that security information is needed to access the service. The request having the required security information is sent to the backend to enable access to the backend service.