CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.net-3.5
Odys
Odys

Reputation: 9090

Encrypt data prior to Serialization

I am trying to encrypt data that a serializable (xml) class contains. Here is a simple example:

[XmlRootAttribute("FooClass")] 
public class FooClass
{
    private string _personalData;

    public PersonalData
    {
        set { _personalData = value;}
        get { return _personalData; }
    }
}

Assume there are ready to be used tho methods: Encrypt & Decrypt. Is there a way to use them somehow during the serialization in order to encrypt PersonalData in the serialized output?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 1024

Answers (2)

Nick Bray
Nick Bray

Reputation: 1963

Yes. You can use OnSerializingAttribute, OnDeserializingAttribute, and XmlIgnore attributes:

private string _encryptedPersonalData;
private string _personalData;                    

[XmlIgnore]
public PersonalData
{                
    set { _personalData = value;}                
    get { return _personalData; }            
}

public string EncryptedPersonalData
{
    get { return _encryptedPersonalData; }
    set { _encryptedPersonalData = value; }
}

[OnDeserializingAttribute()]
internal void DecryptPersonalData(StreamingContext context)
{ 
    // Decrypt data here    
}


[OnSerializingAttribute()]
internal void EncryptPersonalData(StreamingContext context)
{ 
    // Encrypt data here    
}

Or something similar to this. These methods will be called before serialization occurs. More info: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ty01x675(v=VS.80).aspx

Upvotes: 3

competent_tech
competent_tech

Reputation: 44931

Yes. Mark PersonalData as nonserialized, then add a new property to return and accept the serialized data (note that the XmlAttribute is optional):

[XmlRootAttribute("FooClass")] 
public class FooClass
{
    private string _personalData;

    [NonSerialized()]
    public string PersonalData
    {
        set { _personalData = value;}
        get { return _personalData; }
    }

    [XmlAttribute("PersonalData")]
    public string PersonalDataEncrypted
    {
        set { _personalData = DecryptData(value);}
        get { return EncryptData(_personalData); }
    }
}

Upvotes: 4

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