Security Patterns in Practice: Designing Secure Architectures Using Software Patterns

CHAPTER 13

Patterns for Secure Middleware

Medio tutissimus ibis. (You will be safest in the middle.)

Ovid

The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes.

Aristotle

13.1 Introduction

Middleware typically includes a set of functions that provide services to applications, including distributed aspects such as brokering, as well as specific services such as blackboards, pipes and filters, adapters and others. Middleware may also include global services such as authentication, authorization and other services. These services can support development of applications or their execution. There is a great deal of pattern-oriented advice on how to build distributed systems, for example [Bus96] [Bus07] [Cra95], [Kir04] [Sch00b]. There is also a great deal of experience with securing distributed systems, for example [And08] [Dem04] [Kau02]. However, much of the experience gained in securing distributed systems has not worked its way back into design patterns. In [Fer07b] we showed how to add security to middleware patterns; we describe here specific patterns obtained using this approach.

Figure 13.1 shows the patterns discussed in this chapter. The SECURE THREE-TIER ARCHITECTURE pattern typically organizes the structure of middleware systems. Three-tier systems frequently implement a SECURE MODEL-VIEW-CONTROLLER pattern. Distribution is organized using a SECURE BROKER, which is implemented as part of a SECURE ENTERPRISE ...