Ensure Integration Security

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Explain how the OSI seven-layer architecture relates to a secure B2C Commerce integration.
List the secure protocols you should consider for accessing third-party apps with a B2C Commerce storefront application.
Explain how to configure the two communication layers for communication between a storefront and an external web service.
List the steps a controller takes to connect a third-party app to B2C Commerce.
Explain how to import and store certificates.

Layers to Integrate

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven-layer architecture, developed in 1977, describes unique tasks per layer for network communication.

OSI seven-layer architecture

Third-party integration with B2C Commerce focuses on the OSI model’s transport and application layers.

Transport Layer

Establish a specific firewall connection between the third party and B2C Commerce.
Use transport layer certificates to identify both parties in a transaction.
Encrypt using HTTPS certificates.
If a web service is invoked via HTTPS, automatically use the client private key that’s stored in Business Manager, using hostname for that key.

Application Layer

Encrypt messages to the web service, or encrypt data in files sent to third parties.
Store certificates in a cartridge to use WS-Security to automatically encrypt/decrypt SOAP messages for web services.
Use authentication request headers with REST APIs.

Basic Authentication: Basic username / password (can be encoded).
OAuth: Limited temporary access using bearer tokens (that has expiry).

You learned about Web Services Security (WS-Security) in the Code and Customize a Web Service unit. B2C Commerce supports all features of the WS-Security standard except addressing.

Security Protocols

When deciding how to access third-party apps with a B2C Commerce storefront application, use secure protocols such as these as web service types.

Protocol	Description
HTTPS	Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is used for secure communication over a computer network, and is widely used on the internet.
SFTP	Secure shell (SSH) file transfer protocol (also secure file transfer protocol, or SFTP) is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management over any reliable data stream.
Basic Auth	In the context of an HTTP transaction, basic access authentication is a method for an HTTP user agent (for example, a browser) to provide a username and password when making a request.
OAuth	Open authorization (OAuth) is an open standard that’s commonly used as a way for internet users to grant websites or applications access to their information on other websites but without giving them the passwords.
Signing request at TLS layer	Transport layer security (TLS) encrypts data sent over the internet to ensure that eavesdroppers and hackers can’t see what you transmit, for example, passwords, credit card numbers, and personal correspondence. A signing request, involving private keys, is part of its handshake (authentication) process.
Signing SOAP requests	A simple object access protocol (SOAP) message is a special XML file with an `<envelope>` element that contains an optional `<header>` element and a mandatory `<body>` element. It can have signed elements in the `<header>` and in the SOAP `<body>` elements. If the message handler is configured to expect a signed `<body>`, it rejects with an error any SOAP message in which the `<body>` is not signed.

A web service, typically used for a third-party integration, can also use a service credential, such as username and password, to perform HTTP basic authentication.

Configure the Layers

B2C Commerce third-party integration security is accomplished via encryption, using a client private key and a service certificate. Depending on the type of service you use, there can be additional signed and encrypted SOAP messages for the application layer. In this case, store a private key in storefront cartridge code and in Business Manager. Best practice is to use Business Manager.

A cartridge is a container for packaging and deploying program code and data.

This diagram shows network layers in the connection process.

Transport: Save the keystore in Business Manager and use a certificate and private key in the handshake.
Application: Save the keystore in the cartridge and in Business Manager and use a signed and encrypted SOAP message for the handshake.

A keystore is a storage facility for cryptographic keys and certificates.

For the transport layer, use the keystore in Business Manager and a certificate and private key in the handshake. For the application layer, use the keystone in the cartridge and in Business Manager, and use a signed SOAP message for the handshake.

Notice the two important security protocols in this diagram.

Signing request at TLS layer
Signing SOAP requests

Create a Controller

To enact the process described in the above diagram, a developer creates a controller and a script that invokes the web service, creates SOAP messages, and signs or encrypts messages to the web service.

Step

Description

Invoke the web service

When the web service is invoked via HTTPS, B2C Commerce automatically uses the client private key stored in the instance in Business Manager, using the key’s host name.

Import the SSL certificates you use for two-factor authentication into the instance.
Use TLS certificates to communicate with web services or when using dw.net.HTTPClient.

Create SOAP message

After the transport layer negotiation and handshake completes, the script sends a SOAP message to the web service.

Sign or encrypt messages to the web service

When you use the B2C Commerce web services implementation in the dw.ws package, and the web service requires the encryption or signing of SOAP messages, B2C Commerce uses the X509 certificate stored in the instance keystore with the WSDL in the webreference2 folder in your cartridge.

The private key is usually stored in Business Manager in a site preference or custom attribute and referenced in the script, so that the private key doesn't have to be included directly in the script.

You can also use dw.net.httpClient and the crypto package to send and sign a SOAP message if you can't use the B2C Commerce web services implementation. Salesforce doesn’t recommend this as a best practice. Use it only if you require the web service X509 certificate to be stored in the Business Manager instance.

Store Certificates

For both transport and application layer security, import private keys with certificates and trusted certificates into the Business Manager instance keystore. If you use WS-Security to automatically encrypt and decrypt SOAP messages, store these certificates in a cartridge.

When you import certificates into Business Manager, you also configure the additional information required when using keys and certificates, such as an alias or a service provider host name. The alias tells B2C Commerce which URL requires the certificate.

Private keys and certificates are stored per instance and can be used across all sites and organizations for that instance. You can store up to 50 entries (keys or certificates) in an instance key store. Each entry must have an alias. Key entries include both private keys and certificates. Once given, an alias can't be changed. To change it, you must remove the certificate from the keystore and reimport it.

Each private key can be associated with up to five host names. You can import these.

File types

Prefix

private key

.pfx or .p12

trusted certificates

.pem,.cer,.crt,.der

X509 certificates

No prefix

Once imported, the certificates are used whenever communicating with a web service via HTTPS.

If you can’t see the Certificates & Private Keys module in your Business Manager UI, see your administrator for access permission.

Script Methods for X.509 Certificates

In cryptography, X.509 is an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard that defines the public key certificate format. For B2C Commerce storefronts, script methods for X.509 certificates are stored in the instance keystore.

To perform signing and verification using the certificates stored in the instance keystore, use methods that include the KeyRef parameter in the method signature such as these.

dw.crypto.Signature.sign(String message, KeyRef privateKey, String digestAlgorithm)
dw.crypto.Signature.signBytes(Bytes contentToSign, KeyRef privateKey, String digestAlgorithm)
dw.crypto.Signature.verifySignature(String signature, String contentToVerify, CertificateRef certificate, String digestAlgorithm)

Use the helper classes KeyRef and CertificateRef as references to keys in the keystore. They have a constructor that takes a string that’s an alias of a private key KeyRef or a trusted certificate CertificateRef in the keystore.

While a certificate is private, a trusted certificate is a public certificate issued from a trusted certificate authority.

Use Two Identifiers at Once

With the webReferences2 integration with WS-Security enabled, you can set values for signatureKeyIdentifier and encryptionKeyIdentifier using constants in the WSUtil class, and use them at the same time.

For

Use

signatureKeyIdentifier WS_SIG_KEY_ID

encryptionKeyIdentifer WS_ENC_KEY_ID

See the B2C Commerce Script API documentation for the default values that webReferences2 uses and its permissible options.

View the Error Log

If you receive an error when using a certificate, take a look at the error log.

Open Business Manager.
Select Administration > Site Development > Development Setup > Log Files.
Review the log files.

Sometimes you need to scrub logs for sensitive information, such as with URLs written to the service framework's communication logs. If this happens, use dw.svc.ServiceCallback.filterLogMessage to filter the request URL and the request and response bodies.

While log data is filtered to prevent the logging of sensitive data by default, you can enable it if necessary.

Next Steps

In this unit, you explored communications standards and protocols. You learned how a controller can securely connect third-party applications to B2C Commerce and how to import and store certificates. Next, get started with B2C Commerce Open Commerce API (OCAPI).

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