Last updated on Aug 13, 2024

How do you use encryption and hashing to protect your web app's data?

Authentication and authorization are two essential aspects of data security for web applications. They ensure that only authorized users can access and modify sensitive data, and that the data is protected from unauthorized or malicious access. In this article, we will explore how encryption and hashing can help you implement authentication and authorization in your web app, and what are some of the best practices and common pitfalls to avoid.

1 Encryption vs hashing

Encryption and hashing are both techniques to transform data into a different format, but they have different purposes and properties. Encryption is reversible, meaning that you can decrypt the encrypted data back to its original form, if you have the right key. Hashing is irreversible, meaning that you cannot recover the original data from the hashed data, even if you know the algorithm. Encryption is used to protect data in transit or at rest, while hashing is used to verify data integrity or identity.

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Sagar Navroop

✅ Architect | 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 | Technologist
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Deploy robust encryption and hashing techniques to secure web data. From an AWS Ecosystem perspective; we could leverage AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to ensure key generation and management. Data in transit can be shielded using AWS CloudFront with HTTPS. For Amazon S3 storage, leverage server-side encryption to guard data at rest. To secure user credentials, we could deploy SHA-256 hashing techniques. This multi-layered approach, blending AWS encryption services and hashing techniques, not only ensures regulatory compliance but also bolsters our commitment to data integrity and user privacy, providing users with a secure and seamless experience.

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Fred Cohen

Cybersecurity Board Member for Your Public Company / Trusted Advisor / Cybersecurity Guru | We Help Grow Companies
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We typically use encryption in transit via SSL as a standard approach when there are sensitive content or operations involved. We generally use cryptographic check sums in methodologies ranging from simple programmatic checks through integrity shells to detect alteration. There are wide variety of techniques that might be applied in this context, but care must be taken in their use. For example in forensics applications, many folks tend to testify that hashing is somehow a protective measure, when in fact it's a detection measure, and because of the many to one transforms involved, only provides presumptive results, not definitive ones. For more articles on this and related issues, do a search for hashing on all.net

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2 Authentication with hashing

Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or a system. One common way to authenticate users is to store their passwords as hashed values in a database, and compare them with the hashed values of the passwords they enter when they log in. This way, you do not store the passwords in plain text, which would expose them to hackers or data breaches. However, hashing alone is not enough to secure your passwords, as hackers can use brute force or dictionary attacks to guess them. To make your passwords more secure, you should use salt and pepper.

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3 Salt and pepper

Salt and pepper are random values that you add to the passwords before hashing them. Salt is a unique value that you generate for each user and store with their hashed password. Pepper is a secret value that you do not store anywhere, but use for all users. Adding salt and pepper makes your passwords more resistant to brute force or dictionary attacks, as they increase the complexity and randomness of the hashed values. For example, if two users have the same password, their hashed values will be different because of the salt. And if a hacker obtains your database, they will not be able to crack your passwords without the pepper.

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4 Authorization with encryption

Authorization is the process of granting or denying access to data or resources based on the identity or role of a user or a system. One way to implement authorization is to encrypt the data or resources that you want to protect, and only allow authorized users or systems to decrypt them with the right key. This way, you can control who can view or modify your data, and prevent unauthorized or malicious access. For example, you can encrypt your database records with a symmetric key, and only share the key with authorized users or systems. Or you can encrypt your files with an asymmetric key, and only allow the intended recipients to decrypt them with their private keys.

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Claude Mandy

Chief Evangelist | Data Security Nerd | Former Gartner Analyst | Former CISO
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It's essential to consider how encryption is applied—particularly whether on the client side or server side. Client-side encryption gives control over encryption keys to the data owner - even extending to BYOK, ensuring that data remains secure even if the storage provider is compromised. Server-side encryption, on the other hand, relies on the storage provider to manage encryption and keys.

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5 Encryption best practices

Encryption is a powerful tool for data security, but it also comes with some challenges and risks. To ensure successful data encryption, it’s important to select a strong and secure encryption algorithm and key length, and update them regularly. Additionally, encryption keys should be stored in a secure and separate location from your data, utilizing a key management system to manage them. Furthermore, encrypting your data at rest and in transit is essential, as well as using different keys for different purposes or levels of sensitivity. It's also important to note that you should not encrypt data that you do not need to encrypt, as it can affect performance and usability. Additionally, you should not encrypt data that you have already hashed, as it can reduce security and increase complexity.

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How do you use encryption and hashing to protect your web app's data?

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1 Encryption vs hashing

2 Authentication with hashing

3 Salt and pepper

4 Authorization with encryption

5 Encryption best practices

Data Security

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