Protecting Memory Secrets: Difference between revisions
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- secrets: information like credit card or social insurance numbers, passwords, cryptographic keys or IV's, random number seeds, etc.
- threats: things like memory scrapers that may not even be written in the same language - don't assume the only threat is code written in your language.
The object of the task is to show how to minimize the exposure of secret data, basically to remove it or render it unrecoverable at a point in time such as a specific event (e.g. authorization of a transaction, completion of a transaction, completion of a process, removal of plain text after encryption, etc.
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2. Managed Memory (garbage collectors)
In languages like Java and .Net which manage memory for the programmer this can be challenging. Many of these represent some types of data (e.g. strings) as immutable objects so zeroing them isn't possible. Simply discarding them and waiting for the garbage collector to possibly sort things out doesn't meet the intent. If your language has a type for secrets or a guaranteed
a) If possible switch to a mutable data type. In some languages strings are immutable but arrays of single characters or even numbers are not and can be "zeroed" out.
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e) Call out to a platform function or API that will contain and manage the secret.
f) Call out to a custom external function that will or could maintain and manage the secret (just show an external call, no need to write the external function).
g) Something completely different that achieves the same goal.
Part of your solution will be describe what you are doing and the "secret sauce" that lets it work (i.e. how you overcame challenges). References (links, book references) to supporting
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* has two types of secrets called PAN (Primary Account Number) and SAD (Sensitive Authentication Data)
* don't keep secrets in working memory any longer than strictly necessary
* developers should have secure coding
PCI Secure Software Standard (v1.2) [https://docs-prv.pcisecuritystandards.org/Software%20Security/Standard/PCI-Secure-Software-Standard-v1_2.pdf PCI Secure Software Standard] see requirements 1.1 & 3.5
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* has a broader definition of secrets or sensitive information
* implement methods to render transient sensitive data irretrievable and to confirm that sensitive data is unrecoverable after the process is complete even if it is only stored temporarily in program memory / variables during operation of the software
* requires knowledge of any platform or implementation level issues that complicate the
See also [https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammingLanguages/comments/100tyxg/secrets_management_in_volatile_memory_best/ Reddit discussion of the issue]
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