i *must* store third party credentials in my database. best way?

Question

My app must read an SSL url from a third party. How do I best store the third party credentials in my own database, which protects the third party credentials from being compromised? Consider both absolute security and practicality. One-way hashing the credentials is not useful as I must restore credentials to plaintext for the SSL call. I'm using python on google app engine, and my app authenticates with google credentials.

• encrypt credentials using e.g. AES and save the encryption key somewhere else (just moves the problem), or derive it from the credentials and keep the algorithm secret (just moves the problem)
• encrypt credentials using a synchronous stream cipher, derive the (not)entropy from the credentials and keep the algorithm secret (just moves the problem)
• on a separate web app dedicated to storing third party credentials, provide a SSL url to receive the third party credentials, this url is accessed with google credentials (same as my app) and can use authsub or something to transfer authorization to the other web app. this sounds more secure because its harder to hack a trivially simple webapp, and if my complex main app gets compromised the third party credentials aren't exposed.

what do you think about all approaches?

Answer 1

It's a difficult task, and no approach will save you the trouble to make sure that there is no weak link. For starters, I wouldn't know if hosting on Google is the best way to go, because you will be forfeiting control (I really don't know if App Engine is designed with the required level of security in mind, you should find that out) and probably cannot do penetration testing (which you should.)

Having a separate small application is probably a good idea, but that doesn't save you from having to encrypt one way or the other the credentials themselves in this smaller app. It just buys you simplicity, which in turn makes things easier to analyze.

I personally would try to design the app so the key changes randomly after each use, having a kind of one time pad approach. You don't specify the app in enough detail to see if this is feasible.

Answer 2

If you need to reversably store credentials there simply is no solution. Use AES and keep the secret key under well paid armed guard.

If your using windows I would check out the Cred* Win32 API (advapi32.dll) it would at least allow you to punt key management to windows syskey where TPM and or bootup passphrase can provide protection against low level compromise (stolen disk drives)

Obviously if your application or the security context within which it runs is compromised none of the above would be of much help.

Answer 3

How are the credentials being used? If their use is only triggered by the original owner (eg. you're storing a bank card number and they're making their 2nd purchase) then they can provide a password at that point which is used as your encryption key. You would then never need to store that key locally and the database content alone is useless to an attacker.

Answer 4

A decent book that covers this sort of situation is Cryptography In The Database.