Mapeo de Actores

In a world as “connected” as ours, all of us are prey to e-legends—the junior high school kid who hacked into a major corporation; the security consultant who proved that a company’s security system wasn’t as secure as it thought it was; and the entire movie Sneakers.These stories seem incredible and statistically unlikely to happen on our watch, and so we often forget the little steps, ones so easy to take, to tighten up our own environment. After all, why would anyone want to hack into our server? Answer: Because they can.

The ColdFusion Administrator facilitates setup, access permissions, tag activa- tion, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) connections, and a bevy of other set- tings to enable and secure server functionality. It is through the Administrator application that you set up security for the server itself, as well as for the applica- tions it runs.These settings allow the administrator to impose restrictions on access to and use of the ColdFusion server:

■ _{Use of the ColdFusion Administrator application can be secured with}

a password.

■ _{Access from ColdFusion Studio to server data sources and files can be}

secured with a password.

■ _{Execution of certain ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) tags can be}

restricted based on selections made in the ColdFusion Administrator application.

As mentioned earlier, the system administrator is not the only one who needs to be concerned with the practice of security. An emphasis of any

all, the application itself is most often the first line of defense against hacking. If coded sloppily, a ColdFusion application can take much of the work of hacking out of the hacker’s hands, innocently executing malicious code or delivering sen- sitive data straight into the hands of any script kiddie.

Any Web application has the potential to be breached through one of the fol- lowing methods:

■ _{Line snooping} This method entails tapping into a data line or connec-

tions and “overhearing” information being sent.This is a major concern when transmitting sensitive data (social security and credit card numbers) through Web applications or other connections with public access.

The process includes the following steps:

1. Through various hacking techniques, the attacker gains access to a computer on the target network.

2. Once in the network, the hacker installs what is known as a packet

sniffer, a software tool that interacts with the computer’s network

card.

3. The packet sniffer tells the machine to run in “promiscuous mode.” Normally, the computer would only be concerned with interpreting information sent specifically to its address on the network, but in “promiscuous mode,” all network information in transit is vulnerable to being monitored and logged by the machine hosting the packet sniffer.

4. With access to all trafficked private information, the hacker will eventually find the usernames and passwords necessary to compro- mise other machines in the future.

■ _{Unauthorized access Exposing sensitive information to unauthorized}

users is usually a straightforward process when access is restricted glob- ally. However, the trick comes when it is necessary to allow access to some directories or files, but not others.This is the most complex secu- rity system to implement and requires detailed knowledge of the busi- ness processes and data flow necessary to complete a transaction while keeping sensitive information out of reach.

■ _{Impostors Without rigid authentication and a proven security system}

in place, a hacker can effectively impersonate a trusted user, thus gaining access to all files and directories meant for that authenticated user only.

Let’s say that your company’s payroll records are only accessible from a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address on your network. Although the company controller sits in the office next to you, the two of you share none of the same permissions on the network, except that you share the same printer.Thus, both computers are networked by way of that printer. Since the controller’s computer will allow information from the printer to come in, you merely need to go through the network printer to access his or her machine. Hacking into a printer is usually an

uncomplicated process given the lack of security implemented on such a device. Overall, printers are not considered a security risk, although they can act as a network entry point to a hacker.

Once in the controller’s computer, you are seen by the network as an authorized user of the payroll records, since the request for access is seen as coming from the controller’s computer and not your own. In effect, you have spoofed the network, leading it to allow you access as if you were an authorized user of the confidential information.

Due to the inherent risks of transferring delicate information through a worldwide network, ColdFusion security models offer three main methods with which to protect your information from the aforementioned risks.Within those models, you can implement encryption, authentication, and access control. Let’s take a quick look at each.

Encryption is addressed through ColdFusion’s support of Secure Sockets Layer

(SSL).This protocol, signified by the https:// before the Web address, protects against line tapping or data tampering during transmission between clients and servers.

Authentication is the method in which a user is granted access to secured areas.

This is usually done by requesting a username and password from a user, and comparing that information against username and password value pairs stored in a database.

Finally, access control facilitates a user’s access to a subset of information, com- ponents, or features within a site and/or to directories and files on the server itself.This access is granted by the system administrator through the use of a security sandbox and policies, which we discuss in the section Setting Up the

ColdFusion Server Using Advanced Security.

ColdFusion hosts two mutually exclusive levels of security: Basic and

Advanced.The needs of your particular system, as well as the benefits and draw- backs of each security level, must be understood and taken into consideration