Java Cryptography

Introduction to Java Cryptography

Java has become more popular and used everywhere to protect java. Several mechanisms are used to ensure that java is a safe language to use, which is called as java Cryptography. This consists of two main things JCA (Java Cryptography Architecture) and JCE (Java Cryptography Extension). JCA is a set of classes that provide cryptographic capabilities to java programs and comes as a default in the java application development environment. JCE is an additional piece of software that requires special licensing.

Services of Java Cryptography

Below are the two cryptography services provided:

• JCA
• JCE

1. JCA

• JCA stands for Java Cryptography Architecture. It is a set of classes that provides Cryptography capabilities for Java programs. It is a default part of the Java application development environment, i.e. JDK ( Java Development Kit). JCA was introduced in JDK version 1.1. JCA provides basic cryptographic functionality for the programmer using Java. The cryptographic functionalities involve access control, message digest, key pair, permissions, and digital certificates. JCA provides a set of abstract classes in a Java package called security.
• This Architecture is also known for provider architecture as it provides security. The main goal behind designing this architecture is to separate the cryptography concepts from their actual implementation. To achieve this programming language independence, it uses the concept of the interface. An interface is a set of functions that specifies the behavior of the interface, i.e. the what interface can do. It does not show the actual implementation of the interface. Let’s see an example to understand this concept better.
• When we buy a new computer, we do not worry about the mobile or PC’s internal details like the electronic components used, chip, current or voltage, etc. We just used a phone or computer without knowing how it works inside. This set of internal operations is called implementation. We only have an idea about the RAM, memory, battery, etc. Not the internal working. In the same way, the interface works in JCA.
• The main purpose of this is JCA which serves the provision of pluggable architecture. That means it allows the user to change the internal details without knowing the router interface. JCA provides conceptual cryptographic functionalities and allows them to implement in various ways. This allows the different vendors to provide their implementation of cryptographic tools.
• To achieve this, Java, Cryptography Architecture consists of several classes called engine classes. Engine class is a logical implementation of cryptographic functionalities. There is only a single Java security signature class in this Architecture which represents all the possible variations of the digital signature algorithm class. Another class called provider does the actual implementation of this algorithm.

Key Management:

Java version 2 provides a key tool that is used to store both public key and private key separately. Key tool protects both keys using passwords. Key tools use a database to stores the keys; this database is called a Keystore.

Below is the list of services provided by the key tool:

• Export certificates.
• Import other people’s certificates for signature verification.
• Create key pairs.
• Creates self-signed certificates.
• Issue CSR (Certificate Signing Requests), which need to be sent to CA ( Certificate Authority) for requesting a certificate.

2. JCE

JCE stands for Java Cryptography Extension. The cryptographic functionalities of the encryption of data fall in the category of JCE. The architecture of JCE follows the same pattern as that of JCA. It is also based on the concept of Provider classes and engine classes, as we have discussed in the JCA. The implementation is the default which Sun Microsystems provide. Since the architecture is similar to Java Cryptography Architecture, we will not discuss the same thing again.

Conclusion

Both Java Cryptography Architecture and Java Cryptography Extension are strong Cryptography Architectures. They have been carefully planned and designed to allow for further expansion as well as vendor-independent. The biggest problem here is to use this cryptography where we need to face licensing issues. Because of its export laws, Java Cryptography Extension does not come as a part of the core Java Development Kit. Now the restrictions have been lifted; application developers can easily use the Java Cryptography Extension freely.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Java Cryptography. Here we discuss the introduction to java cryptography and the services and implementing provider for cryptography. You can also go through our related articles to learn more –

1. Cryptography Techniques
2. Cryptography vs Encryption
3. What is Cryptography?
4. Symmetric Key Encryption