HCL Commerce security model

The user authentication process is configured by default to run under SSL. This ensures that a third party by using network-sniffing programs cannot snoop on the network when a user submits a password. Passwords are never decrypted during the authentication process. It is a common security practice to keep the passwords encrypted during the authentication process. All user passwords have a user-specific salt. They are one-way hashed by using SHA-256, and encrypted using an encryption key based on the merchant key. The use of one way hashing ensures that user passwords are not decipherable by anyone, including the site or system administrator. The merchant key, which is specified during the installation and configuration of the HCL Commerce system, and can be changed as often as necessary to maintain the security of the site.

AES 128-bit encryption is used to encrypt data in HCL Commerce. Encrypting sensitive data in the database, such as credit card data (if persisted to the database) and passwords, is done using the customer provided encryption key (32 hexadecimal characters). This encryption key is referred to as the merchant key. Encrypting session data, such as cookies, uses the customer provided session key is used as the encryption key. Encrypting data in configuration files and Vault uses an internal encryption key.

What is authorization?

Authorization is the process of determining whether a user can run a specific operation on a resource. Authorization is determined from the access control policies that govern HCL Commerce resources. In an HCL Commerce system, access control is needed to ensure that only authorized parties can run different groups of HCL Commerce commands.

What are access control policies?

Assuming that you finish defining the organizations and users that participate in your e-commerce site, you can now manage their activities through a set of policies. This set of policies is a process referred to as "access control".

An access control policy is a rule that describes which group of users is authorized to run particular activities on your site. These activities can range from registration, to updating the product catalog, and granting approvals on orders, and any of the hundreds of other activities that are required to operate and maintain an e-commerce site.

The policies are what grants users access to your site. Unless they are authorized to perform their responsibilities through one or more access control policies, users have no access to any of your sites functions.

The authorization model for HCL Commerce is based on the enforcement of access control policies. Access control policies are enforced by the access control Policy Manager. In general, when a user attempts to access a protectable resource, the access control policy manager first determines what access control policies are applicable for that user. Then, based on the applicable access control policies, it determines whether the user is allowed to run the requested operation on the resource.

What is an audit trail?

In computing, an audit trail is used to refer to electronic or paper logs that are used to track computer activity. For example, an employee might have access to a portion of a corporate network, such as accounts receivable. Even though the employee has access to account receivable, the employee might not be authorized to access other portions of the system, such as payroll. If that employee attempts to access an unauthorized section by typing in passwords, this improper activity is recorded in the audit trail.

In e-commerce systems, audit trails are used to record customer activity. An audit trail records a customer's initial contact with the system and subsequent actions such as payment and delivery of the product or service. Companies can use the audit trail to respond to any inquiries or complaints. It can also use the audit trail to reconcile accounts, to provide analysis and historical information for plans and budgeting, and to provide a record of sales in a tax audit.

Audit trails can also be used to investigate computer crimes over cyberspace and the internet. To expose an individual conducting malicious attacks on a system, investigators can follow the audit trail that is left by the perpetrator. Sometimes the perpetrators of cyber crimes unknowingly leave behind audit trails in activity logs with their internet service providers or perhaps through chat room logs.

What is confidentiality?

Confidentiality is the process of protecting sensitive information from being deciphered by unintended recipients. In the HCL Commerce system, confidentiality is required when sensitive information flows from the user's browser to the Transaction server, and back from the Transaction server to the user's browser. Using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) provides confidentiality for this scenario.

Confidentiality is also a strong requirement in the area of session management. Because the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol is state less, a cookie is commonly used to continuously identify the user to the Transaction server. If this cookie is stolen, then the user account can be compromised, and is commonly known as "session hijacking". HCL Commerce prevents session hijacking by using unique features of the cookie specifications as discussed in Session management.