CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sslasp.net-web-apibasic-authentication
olif
olif

Reputation: 3299

.Net web api, SSL + basic auth

I have multiple sets of sensor networks that are sending data to a .net web api. Somehow, I need to secure some of the endpoints of the API (so that I can be certain that the information sent to the API really is from the sensors). Basic auth and SSL seems to be one way to go. The problem is that I'm having trouble understanding the SSL part.

As of now I have created a client certificate that is stored on the sensors, information of the certificate can be retrieved in the API by the Request.GetClientCertificate() method. Is this overkill when I just want to secure my Api with basic auth? That is, is the communication secure by just sending data over https without providing a certificate?

I do not need to use the certificate for authentication (since this is done by basic auth).

Upvotes: 0

Views: 449

Answers (1)

Badrinarayanan Lakshmiraghavan
Badrinarayanan Lakshmiraghavan

Reputation: 19311

Basic authentication is about sending the user name and password in the HTTP authorization header as plain text (base64 encoded but not encrypted). For this reason, you need to use HTTPS with basic authn so that folks in the middle do not get to see the user name and password that a client sends.

When it comes to HTTPS, there is a server certificate and a client certificate. Server sends the server certificate to the client so that client can determine it is the right server it is connecting to. Similarly, a client can send a client certificate to the server so that a server can determine if an authentic client is talking to it.

The client certificate part is optional in HTTPS. So, you can use basic authentication without using the client certificate. If you use client certificate, it is already a credential and you need not use basic authentication, unless you want to use a two-factor authentication. TFA is an overkill or not - it is for you to decide.

Upvotes: 5

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