Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages, Volume 2: Advanced Technologies, Second Edition

Chapter 3. Declarative Security

Topics in This Chapter

• Understanding the major aspects of Web application security
• Authenticating users with HTML forms
• Using BASIC HTTP authentication
• Defining passwords in Tomcat
• Designating protected resources with the security-constraint element
• Using login-config to specify the authentication method
• Mandating the use of SSL
• Configuring Tomcat to use SSL
• Talking to Web servers interactively
• Creating your own Certificate Authority
• Signing a server certificate

There are two major aspects to securing Web applications:

1. Preventing unauthorized users from accessing sensitive data. This process involves access restriction (identifying which resources need protection and who should have access to them) and authentication ...