Siebel 8.

0 Essentials

Module 12: Securing Access to the Application

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Copyright 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.

Module Objectives

After completing this module you should be able to:

Describe the types of user authentication supported by Siebel applications Explain the role of the security adapter Describe Single Sign On (SSO) security and how it differs from other authentication methods

Why you need to know:

You must understand the security mechanisms in order to be able to implement them

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Siebel Application Security

Siebel applications are secured at several levels:

Data visibility and view access should be restricted so users see only the appropriate views and data

Subject of previous module Subject of this module

Access to the application should be restricted to authorized users

Communication between architecture components may need to be secured

Subject of subsequent module

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Authentication
Is the process of validating a users identity Verifies the identity of users before they gain access to a Siebel application Typically consists of collecting a set of user credentials such as user ID and password and comparing them to pre-stored values

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Supported Authentication Methods

Siebel applications support authentication by either the Siebel servers or the Web server:
Siebel security adapters are software programs that allow Siebel servers to authenticate users Single Sign On (SSO) allows the Web server to authenticate users

Siebel Web Server Extension performs authentication check Security adapter is still involved in verifying the trust token passed to it by the Web server

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Siebel Security Adapters

A security adapter is a piece of software that connects to an authentication service

Implemented as part of the Application Object Manager (AOM)
1. User provides credentials in browser 2. Credentials are passed through Web server to AOM. Web server does not check the credentials 3. Security adapter authenticates credentials using authentication service Security Adapter

Browser

Web Server

SWSE
Credentials

Siebel Object Manager

Authentication Service
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Authentication Services

Siebel applications support multiple authentication services:

Database authentication Lightweight Database Authentication Protocol (LDAP) Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI) Custom authentication using the Siebel Security Adapter Software Developers Kit (SSASDK)

Creating custom security adapters is beyond the scope of this course Refer to the Siebel Security Adapter SDK in Bookshelf

Siebel Object Manager

Security Adapter

Authentication Service

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Database Authentication

Users are authenticated against the underlying database The database Security Adapter is the default for Siebel applications

Browser

Web Server SWSE Credentials

1. User provides name and password

2. Password may be hashed to prevent direct database access

Siebel Object Manager Hash password

Security Adapter

3. Connect to database using user ID and (possibly hashed) password. RDBMS performs authentication

Connect using DB account

Siebel Database
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Database Authentication Considerations

Does not require additional infrastructure components such as directory servers Uses a separate database login for each user
Requires ongoing support from a database administrator

May support account policies based on those of the RDBMS

Password expiration Password syntax Account lockout

Supports minimal user self-management

User cannot perform self-management without being granted direct access to the database server

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Directory Server Authentication

Browser

Web Server SWSE Credentials 1. User provides information

Users are authenticated against an external directory service The directory service contains the users credentials and administrative information A single reserved database login is typically used for all users
2. Verify credentials Authentication Service
Directory

Siebel Object Manager

Security Adapter

Login

Connect using DB account 3. Connect to database

Retrieve reserved DB Account

Siebel Database

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Directory Service Considerations

Reduces administrative overhead

Eliminates maintenance of a separate database login for each user Allows Web users to self-register and maintain login information Allows automated creation of users from User Administration view Allows external delegated administration of users

Allows credentials store to be shared across multiple applications May support account policies based on those of the directory service
Password expiration Password syntax Account lockout

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Single Sign On

Browser User Credentials

Web Server SWSE Authenticated User ID and Trust Token Siebel Object Manager Security Adapter 1. User provides information

Web Server provides credentials to third-party service Security Adapter looks up and retrieves Siebel user ID, DB account based on identity key from external source
Login

3. Passes authenticated user ID and trust token

4. Verifies trust token and collects user ID

Authentication Service
2. Verifies credentials

Connect Using DB Account

Retrieves Siebel user ID and DB account

Directory

Siebel Database

5. Connects to database
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Copyright 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.

Single Sign On Considerations

Allows users to access multiple applications without any further login

For example, Windows Integrated Authentication allows users to access Siebel applications directly once they have logged in to their Windows accounts

Uses credentials that are collected and verified by the Web server
Management of authentication can be performed from a single centralized location

Requires the use of a trust token

Secret value shared by the Web server and Object Manager

Allows Siebel applications to be deployed into existing Web sites and portals

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Single Sign On Considerations Continued

Some Siebel User Administration features that are not available using SSO should be disabled for consistency, for example:
User self-registration Delegated administration of users Change password

Requires synchronization of users between the Siebel application and the external authentication system

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Comparing Authentication Methods

Database Authentication
Requires additional infrastructure
Supports account policies such as password expiration Supports user selfmanagement Allows creation of users from within the Siebel application Allows using same credentials across multiple applications Allows single sign-on Allows external management of users

Directory Service Authentication

Single Sign On

No
Depends on RDBMS No No No No No

Yes
Depends on directory service Yes Yes Yes No Yes

Yes
Depends on directory service No No Yes Yes Yes

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Module Highlights

Siebel applications support three mechanisms for authenticating users:

Database authentication is the default; the Siebel Server passes the authentication information to the RDBMS for authentication Directory Service authentication uses a directory service such as LDAP or ADSI to perform the authentication; the Siebel Server passes the authentication information to the directory service Single Sign On uses a directory service at the Web server level to allow single sign-on to multiple applications; the Siebel Web Server passes the authentication information to the directory service and passes the returned trust token to the Siebel Server

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Lab

In the lab you will:

Create a database account for a new user

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