J2EE™ Security for Servlets, EJBs and Web Services: Applying Theory and Standards to Practice

The Security Problem

Any use of computer and network systems to cause fraudulent activities or disruption of normal operations is a form of attack. This kind of attack could succeed either because the system is not properly secured or the security has been somehow compromised. To gain more insight into the nature of such attacks and the damage caused, let us look at news reports, collected from various sources on the Internet at the time of writing this chapter (July-August, 2002) and presented in reverse-chronological order:

1. July 12, 2002. Hackers broke into USA Today's website and replaced legitimate news stories with phony articles, lampooning newsmakers and religion and claiming that Israel was under missile attack.

2. June 13, 2002. A Middleton, ...