Security Overlay for RMI

Abstract

Distributed object computing refers to allowing objects to be distributed across a network. These objects may be distributed across a number of different computers and across networks.This thesis presents a popular distributed object architecture, Remote Method Invocation (RMI). As RMI works on a Java framework, it provides the same features Java provides. Its portability, ability to transport objects as a whole, and power to connect to existing as well as legacy systems makes a strong choice amongst other competing technologies. Needless to say, the transport of objects across systems brings along with it the necessity for a strong security framework.The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a widely popular protocol that currently provides the secure framework RMI needs. Most e-commerce applications these days run over SSL. However, SSL may not the right choice for every application requiring a security backbone. The motivation behind this thesis lies in this thought. The Secure Remote Password Protocol (SRP) provides a secure, simple and fast approach for providing client authentication. An attempt has been made to build a new infrastructure using SRP. The infrastructure that has been developed can provide authentication and privacy, as well as maintain message integrity. One such application domain is mobile computing. In this era where data is required to be accessible from anywhere and everywhere, mobile computing is a growing area. Again, due to the use of mobile agents in this area, security plays an important role. The security mechanism provided needs to be fast and simple and at the same time provide strong security. The new security overlay developed has been proposed as a possible solution.