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Tokenization: Token Servers, Part 3, Deployment Models

Adrian Lane July 26, 2010 No Comments

We have covered the internals of token servers and talked about architecture and integration of token services. Now we need to look at some of the different deployment models and how they match up to different types of businesses. Protecting medical records in multi-company environments is a very different challenge than processing credit cards for thousands of merchants. Central Token Server The most common deployment model we see today is a single token server that sits between application servers and the back end transaction servers. The token server issues one or more tokens for each instance of sensitive information that it recieves. For most applications it becomes a reference library, storing sensitive information within a repository and providing an index back to the real data as needed. The token service is placed in line with existing transaction systems, adding a new substitution step between business applications and back-end data processing. As mentioned in previous posts, this model is excellent for security as it consolidates all the credit card data into a single highly secure server; additionally, it is very simple to deploy as all services reside in a single location. And limiting the number of locations where sensitive data is stored and accessed both improves security and reduces auditing, as there are fewer systems to review. A central token server works well for small businesses with consolidated operations, but does not scale well for larger distributed organizations. Nor does it provide the reliability and uptime demanded by always-on Internet businesses. For example: Latency: The creation of a new token, lookup of existing customers, and data integrity checks are computationally complex. Most vendors have worked hard to alleviate this problem, but some still have latency issues that make them inappropriate for financial/point of sale usage. Failover: If the central token server breaks down, or is unavailable because of a network outage, all processing of sensitive data (such as orders) stops. Back-end processes that require tokens halt. Geography: Remote offices, especially those in remote geographic locations, suffer from network latency, routing issues, and Internet outages. Remote token lookups are slow, and both business applications and back-end processes suffer disproportionately in the event of disaster or prolonged network outages. To overcome issues in performance, failover, and network communications, several other deployment variations are available from tokenization vendors. Distributed Token Servers With distributed token servers, the token databases are copies and shared among multiple sites. Each has a copy of the tokens and encrypted data. In this model, each site is a peer of the others, with full functionality. This model solves some of the performance issues with network latency for token lookup, as well as failover concerns. Since each token server is a mirror, if any single token server goes down, the others can share its load. Token generation overhead is mitigated, as multiple servers assist in token generation and distribution of requests balances the load. Distributed servers are costly but appropriate for financial transaction processing. While this model offers the best option for uptime and performance, synchronization between servers requires careful consideration. Multiple copies means synchronization issues, and carefully timed updates of data between locations, along with key management so encrypted credit card numbers can be accessed. Finally, with multiple databases all serving tokens, you increase the number of repositories that must be secured, maintained, and audited increases substantially. Partitioned Token Servers In a partitioned deployment, a single token server is designated as ‘active’, and one or more additional token servers are ‘passive’ backups. In this model if the active server crashes or is unavailable a passive server becomes active until the primary connection can be re-established. The partitioned model improves on the central model by replicating the (single, primary) server configuration. These replicas are normally at the same location as the primary, but they may also be distributed to other locations. This differs from the distributed model in that only one server is active at a time, and they are not all peers of one another. Conceptually partitioned servers support a hybrid model where each server is active and used by a particular subset of endpoints and transaction servers, as well as as a backup for other token servers. In this case each token server is assigned a primary responsibility, but can take on secondary roles if another token server goes down. While the option exists, we are unaware of any customers using it today. The partitioned model solves failover issues: if a token server fails, the passive server takes over. Synchronization is easier with this model as the passive server need only mirror the active server, and bi-directional synchronization is not required. Token servers leverage the mirroring capabilities built into the relational database engines, as part of their back ends, to provide this capability. Next we will move on to use cases. Share:

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Tokenization: Series Index

Adrian Lane July 26, 2010 1 Comment

Understanding and Selecting a Tokenization Solution: Introduction Business Justification Token System Basics The Tokens Token Servers, Part 1, Internal Functions Token Servers, Part 2, Architecture and Integration Token Servers, Part 3, Deployment Models Tokenization: Use Cases, Part 1 Tokenization: Use Cases, Part 2 Tokenization: Use Cases, Part 3 Tokenization Topic Roundup Tokenization: Selection Process Share:

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GSM Cell Phones to Be Intercepted in Defcon Demonstration

Rich July 26, 2010 1 Comment

This hit Slashdot today, and I expect the mainstream press to pick it up fairly soon. Chris Paget will be intercepting cell phone communications at Defcon during a live demonstration. I suspect this may be the single most spectacular presentation during all of this year’s Defcon and Black Hat. Yes, people will be cracking SCADA and jackpotting ATMs, but nothing strikes closer to the heart than showing major insecurities with the single most influential piece of technology in society. Globally I think cell phones are even more important than television. Chris is taking some major precautions to stay out of jail. He’s working hand in hand with the Electronic Frontier Foundation on the legal side, and there will be plenty of warnings on-site and no information from any calls recorded or stored. I suspect he’s setting up a microcell under his control and intercepting communications in a man in the middle attack, but we’ll have to wait until his demo to get all the details. For years the mobile phone companies have said this kind of interception is impractical or impossible. I guess we’ll all find out this weekend… Share:

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