J2SE Security Fundamentals

Summary

In this chapter, we took a deep look at the foundations of Java 2 security. First, we examined how it is possible to restrict access to classes, interfaces, methods, and fields. Then, we studied in detail the three legs of Java security: class loaders, the class file verifier, and security manager.

In Chapter 8, we see how Java security allows enforcing runtime access control restrictions declaratively. This involves understanding the concepts of Permission, Policy, CodeSource, and ProtectionDomain. We also see how SecurityManager and AccessController collaborate to enforce access-control restrictions based on the security Policy in effect and how it is possible to relax some access-control restrictions by using privileged code.