Securing messages at the request generator using WSS APIs
You can secure SOAP messages by configuring signing information, encryption, and generator tokens to protect message integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity, respectively. This request (client-side) generator configuration defines the Web Services Security requirements for the outgoing SOAP message request.
Before you begin
To secure web services with WebSphere® Application Server, you must configure the generator and the consumer security constraints. Therefore, in addition to securing messages at the request generator level, you must also secure messages at the response consumer level.
About this task
The request (client-side) generator configuration requirements involve generating a SOAP message request that uses a digital signature, incorporates encryption, and attaches security tokens.
To secure web service applications, you must specify several different configurations. Although there is no specific sequence to specify these different configurations, some configurations reference other configurations. For example, decryption configurations reference encryption configurations.
- Use the administrative console to configure policy sets.
- Use the Web Services Security APIs (WSS API) to configure the SOAP message context (only for the client)
The following high-level steps use the WSS APIs:
Procedure
- Configure generator signing to protect message integrity.
- Configure encryption to protect message confidentiality.
- Attach generator tokens to protect message authenticity.
- Propagate self-issued SAML bearer tokens using WSS APIs.
- Propagate self-issued SAML sender-vouches tokens with message protection using WSS APIs.
- Propagate self-issued SAML sender-vouches tokens with transport protection using WSS APIs.
- Sending self-issued SAML holder-of-key tokens with symmetric key using WSS APIs.
- Sending self-issued SAML holder-of-key tokens with asymmetric key using WSS APIs.