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Aug 19	comment	Do you need to encrypt session data? @curiousguy I am not sure what `tmpfs` is but `/tmp` is usually just a regular folder in windows or linux. More info about it here: php.net/manual/en/…
Aug 19	comment	Do you need to encrypt session data? @curiousguy What do you mean? If you mean `/tmp`then `/tmp` is PHP's default session folder in a shared hosting environment.
Aug 19	revised	Do you need to encrypt session data? added 91 characters in body
Aug 19	asked	Do you need to encrypt session data?
Aug 14	revised	HTTP Basic auth password storage more secure than Digest auth added 37 characters in body
Aug 14	comment	HTTP Basic auth password storage more secure than Digest auth @symcbean Should have cleared it this is for REST API server. BTW, Cpanel uses HTTP auth.
Aug 13	awarded	Caucus
Aug 13	comment	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? Yes I understand it may not be called API key or API secret literally but the purpose is quite the same: API key = Username, API secret = Password. BTW, I do have a separate question that you may want to answer: security.stackexchange.com/questions/18563 Note that I pointed out not using SSL in that question but you can note about SSL in your answer, if ever.
Aug 13	comment	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? I know my example was AWS but I also mean other APIs, and other APIs implement HTTP Digest auth. You mention it's insecure but that is only true if the API server is not using SSL/TLS right?
Aug 13	comment	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? It's not clear to me why nothing is gained. In HTTP Digest auth you can store the `HA1` in `md5` in your database. So the password (which can be used as API secret key) is never stored in plain text. AFAIK in Digest auth, the client only supplies username and plain text password, while server only stores the hash so the database is protected with hashed passwords. Didn't this example just gained password secrecy? If the attacker gains the database of hashes, he can't simply use it since he must crack it first to know the plain text version.
Aug 13	comment	HTTP Basic auth password storage more secure than Digest auth Thanks for the pointers. So I guess if you don't need the "ugly" interface (i.e., you are using HTTP auth for REST API server, and client's don't see/use the screen because they hard-code the login process), then I guess basic auth is still pretty good on SSL.
Aug 13	asked	HTTP Basic auth password storage more secure than Digest auth
Aug 13	comment	Does truncating the cryptographic hash make it impossible to crack? I now understand the risk involved with this but if we prevent duplicate/matching hash stored in the database then this fixes the issue of collision right?
Aug 13	comment	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? Is there any reason why an API server can't hash user input (i.e., hash the key)? And compare it to the hashed key stored in the server. Seems to me there's no special reason why keys can't be hashed.
Aug 13	comment	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? What is preventing an API server from hashing a key for storage since it can hash the user input (i.e., the client) for comparison the same way password storage works?
Aug 13	comment	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? @DavidSchwartz I didn't say that. I said it's either plain text or decrypt-able.
Aug 13	comment	Signed request vs HTTP digest auth for API authentication? @curiousguy To clarify what you're saying is possible with MITM attack right and that is also possible with SSL MITM attack?
Aug 12	comment	Signed request vs HTTP digest auth for API authentication? @curiousguy Yes that is exactly what I mean but how can an attacker modify the request? He must first know the user-password pair before he can send a modified request right?
Aug 12	revised	Is it okay for API secret to be stored in plain text or decrypt-able? added 228 characters in body
Aug 12	comment	Signed request vs HTTP digest auth for API authentication? You are right this is complicated and messy. And the log will probably be so big. SSL it is.