Special Edition Using Java™ 2 Enterprise Edition

Case Study

A bank needed to exchange account data with another bank. In addition to keeping the data hidden, the banks needed to identify each other to make sure they weren't getting phony data. Because each bank's server was accessible over the Internet, it was possible that someone would try to send fake data.

The banks used HTTPS over secure sockets to transmit the data in encrypted form. By using a standard protocol such as HTTPS, the banks didn't need to change their firewall configurations to exchange data. To verify each other's identities, the banks opted to digitally sign every message they exchanged, which included the date and time of the transaction. This allowed the banks to verify the authenticity of the messages. By including the ...