Application level security

Application level security refers to those security services that are invoked at the interface between an application and a queue manager to which it is connected.

These services are invoked when the application issues MQI calls to the queue manager. The services might be invoked, directly or indirectly, by the application, the queue manager, another product that supports IBM MQ, or a combination of any of these working together. Application level security is illustrated in Figure 1.

Application level security is also known as end-to-end security or message level security.

• When an application puts a message on a queue, the message descriptor contains a user ID associated with the application. However, there is no data present, such as an encrypted password, that can be used to authenticate the user ID. A security service can add this data. When the message is eventually retrieved by the receiving application, another component of the service can authenticate the user ID using the data that has travelled with the message. This is an example of an identification and authentication service.
• A message can be encrypted when it is put on a queue by an application and decrypted when it is retrieved by the receiving application. This is an example of a confidentiality service.
• A message can be checked when it is retrieved by the receiving application. This check determines whether its contents have been deliberately modified since it was first put on a queue by the sending application. This is an example of a data integrity service.

• Advanced Message Security
  Advanced Message Security ( AMS) is a component of IBM MQ that provides a high level of protection for sensitive data flowing through the IBM MQ network, while not impacting the end applications.
• Providing your own application level security
  We can provide your own application level security services. To help you implement application level security, IBM MQ provides two exits, the API exit and the API-crossing exit.

Parent topic: Comparing link level security and application level security