in reply to Re: Eliminate server-side state to obviate cookies
in thread "omniscient debugging" for Perl

How do you stop the client from changing the state into one it shouldn't.
Encryption
Storing the session state in the form sent back to the browser may have security implications if it reveals internal server information. In addition, the session state often contains sensible user input, like passwords. WASH/CGI addresses both concerns by providing a one-time pad encryption for the session state.

20050705 Janitored by Corion: Moved (broken) link from a tag into [http://

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Re^3: Eliminate server-side state to obviate cookies
by tilly (Archbishop) on Jul 05, 2005 at 20:51 UTC
    People who talk about using one-time pads in practice are generally either military or idiots.

    It takes a lot of work to generate (and in many cases to communicate) a one-time pad. Any reuse of data (or use of low-entropy random number generators) ruins the entire concept entirely, resulting in something that cryptographers assure me is easily broken. The required effort is fine for the military. But very few commercial applications find it feasible.

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      resulting in something that cryptographers assure me is easily broken
      Yup. When you implement an OTP with a cyclic key, it's called a Vigenere Cipher. The attack looks at letter frequencies and their distributions within the ciphertext.

      thor

      Feel the white light, the light within
      Be your own disciple, fan the sparks of will
      For all of us waiting, your kingdom will come

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Re^3: Eliminate server-side state to obviate cookies
by hardburn (Abbot) on Jul 05, 2005 at 17:39 UTC

    I get nervous whenever anyone mentions "one-time pad". In any case, I still can't imagine this having significant savings over coookie + session ID + database.

    "There is no shame in being self-taught, only in not trying to learn in the first place." -- Atrus, Myst: The Book of D'ni.

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