Protocols for secure client-server applications in the Joint Maritime command Information System

80 Pages·1997·3.2 MB·English

by  Weldon, Steven G

NPS ARCHIVE
1997.09
WELDON,
S.
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Monterey, California
THESIS
PROTOCOLS FOR SECURE CLIENT-SERVER
APPLICATIONS IN THE JOINT MARITIME COMMAND
INFORMATION SYSTEM
by
Steven G. Weldon
September, 1997
Thesis Advisor: Dennis Volpano
Second Reader: Cynthia Irvine
Thesis
W399
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
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September 1997 Master's Thesis
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PROTOCOLS FOR SECURE CLIENT-SERVER APPLICATIONS IN THE
JOINT MARITIME COMMAND INFORMATION SYSTEM.
6. AUTHOR(S)
Weldon, Steven G.
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Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, CA 93943-5000
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ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words)
The new architecture for the Joint Maritime Command Information System, referred to as JMCIS'98, seeks to
provide uniform access to tactical and non-tactical information. The goal is to allow access to such information using
Wide Area Network technology and Personal Computers running Windows NT in a web environment. This architecture
relies on web servers to deliver executable content, such as Java applets, to clients and gateway servers toroute requests to
the appropriate serversand/or databases.
This architecture raises new security risks which must be addressed. Two ofthese risks are addressed in this
thesis: executing downloaded code from a web server and transmitting sensitive information, such as passwords, to
gatewayservers
We investigate threecryptographic protocols to address these risks. The first protocol treats the risk ofexecuting
downloaded code from a web server by using digital signatures. The second protocol addresses the transmission of
sensitive information to a gateway server by using certificates and symmetric key cryptography. Finally, we explore an
alternative approach, that ofthe Secure Sockets Layer, which provides mutual authentication. We discuss how the first
two protocols can be implemented in Java using the Java Developer's Kit (JDK) 1.1 and the Java Cryptography Extension
_____
(JCE) 1.1.
14. SUBJECTTERMS 15. NUMBEROFPAGES
Protocols, JMCIS'98, SecureClient-ServerApplications 71
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
PROTOCOLS FOR SECURE CLIENT-SERVER APPLICATIONS IN THE
JOINT MARITIME COMMAND INFORMATION SYSTEM
Steven G. Weldon
Lieutenant, United States Navy
B.A., The George Washington University, 1990
Submitted in partial fulfillment ofthe
requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
from the
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
September 1997

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ABSTRACT IV/l1 • »... *EY CA 83943-5101
The new architecture for the Joint Maritime Command Information System
referred to as JMCIS'98, seeks to provide uniform access to tactical and non-tactical
information. The goal is to allow access to such information using Wide Area Network
technology and Personal Computers ninning Windows NT in a web environment. This
architecture relies on web servers to deliver executable content, such as Java applets, to
clients and gateway servers to route requests to the appropriate servers and/or databases.
This architecture raises new security risks which must be addressed. Two ofthese
risks are addressed in this thesis: executing downloaded code from a web server and
transmitting sensitive information, suchas passwords, to gateway servers.
We investigate three cryptographic protocols to address these risks. The first
protocol treats the risk ofexecuting downloaded code from a web server by using digital
signatures. The second protocol addresses the transmission ofsensitive information to a
gateway server by using certificates and symmetric key cryptography. Finally, we
explore an alternative approach, that ofthe Secure Sockets Layer, which provides mutual
authentication. We discuss how the first two protocols can be implemented in Java using
the JavaDeveloper's Kit (JDK) 1.1 and the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) 1.1.
VI
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. 1
A. SECURITY ISSUES INJMCIS'98 2
B. ORGANIZATION OFTHESIS 3
II. JMCIS'98 5
A. JMCIS'98 ARCHITECTURE 6
1. Migration Strategy 7
2. Personal ComputerArchitecture 8
3. Communications 10
4. PhasedMigration 10
5. JMCIS Security 11
SUMMARY
B. 12
JAVA
ID. 15
A. JAVA SECURITY RISKS 15
1. Java Applications 16
2. JavaApplets 16
B. JAVA SECURITYARCHITECTURE 19
1. Class Loader 19
2. Class Verifier 20
3. SecurityManager 20
SUMMARY
C. 21
IV. JAVACRYPTOGRAPHYARCHITECTURE AND EXTENSION 23
A. JAVA'SNEW SECURITYFACILITIES 23
1. Signed JARFiles 23
2. JavaCryptographyArchitecture 25
a. Java SecurityAPI 25
b. CryptographyPackage Providers 27
3. JavaCryptographyExtension 28
B. SUMMARY 29
V. JMCIS'98 SECURITY PROTOCOLS 31
A. TRUSTED CODE AND SECURE PASSWORD TRANSMISSION PROTOCOLS 32
1. TrustedCodeProtocol 32
2. SecurePasswordTransmission Protocol 33
3. ImplementingKeys 34
4. ImplementingCertificates 35
B. TRUSTEDCODEPROTOCOL IMPLEMENTATIONUSING JAVA'S JCA 37
ANALTERNATIVE APPROACHTO VERIFYING TRUSTED CODE
C.
USING JDK 38
1.1
1. EstablishingATrustedEntity 40
2. DownloadingA JARFile 41
D. IMPLEMENTINGTHE SECURE PASSWORD TRANSMISSION PROTOCOL
USING JAVA'S JCE 42
ANALTERNATIVE APPROACHTO SECURE PASSWORD TRANSMISSION
E.
USING THE SECURE SOCKETSLAYER 46
1. RecordLayer 47
a. Change CipherSpec Protocol 49
2. HandshakeProtocol 49
3. Applying SSLToJMCIS'98 andSecurePassword Transmission 5
SUMMARY 52
F.
VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53
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LISTOF REFERENCES ^7
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