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OpenSSL vs Spring Security: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this article, we will discuss the key differences between OpenSSL and Spring Security.
Encryption Algorithms: OpenSSL is a cryptography library that provides various encryption algorithms like DES, AES, RSA, etc. It allows developers to implement custom encryption schemes and protocols. On the other hand, Spring Security is a framework that focuses on securing Java applications. It provides support for encryption algorithms like AES, Blowfish, and RSA, but it does not offer as many options as OpenSSL.
SSL/TLS Support: OpenSSL is widely used for implementing SSL/TLS protocols. It provides robust support for SSL/TLS versions and various cipher suites. Spring Security has built-in support for SSL/TLS protocols as well, but it relies on the underlying Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE) implementation for SSL/TLS functionalities.
Integration with Frameworks: OpenSSL is a standalone library that can be integrated with various programming languages and frameworks. It is commonly used with C, C++, and other programming languages. Spring Security, on the other hand, is specifically designed for Java applications and integrates seamlessly with the Spring Framework.
Authentication and Authorization: Spring Security provides a comprehensive authentication and authorization framework for Java applications. It supports various authentication mechanisms like form-based authentication, LDAP, and OAuth. While OpenSSL can be used for encryption and digital certificate processing, it does not provide built-in support for authentication and authorization mechanisms.
Platform Independence: OpenSSL is developed in C programming language and is platform-independent. It can be compiled and executed across different operating systems. Spring Security is a Java-based framework and relies on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) for execution. It can run on any platform that supports Java.
Community Support: OpenSSL has a large and active community of developers contributing to its development and providing support. It is widely used and has been around for a long time. Spring Security also has a strong community backing and is actively maintained by the Spring team. However, compared to OpenSSL, the community support and resources available for Spring Security may be relatively smaller.
In summary, OpenSSL is a standalone cryptography library with extensive encryption algorithm support and SSL/TLS protocol implementation. It can be integrated with various programming languages and frameworks. Spring Security, on the other hand, is a Java-based framework designed for securing Java applications. It provides authentication and authorization mechanisms along with support for SSL/TLS protocols.
I am working on building a platform in my company that will provide a single sign on to all of the internal products to the customer. To do that we need to build an Authorisation server to comply with the OIDC protocol. Earlier we had built the Auth server using the Spring Security OAuth project but since in Spring Security 5.x it is no longer supported we are planning to get over with it as well. Below are the 2 options that I was considering to replace the Spring Auth Server. 1. Keycloak 2. Okta 3. Auth0 Please advise which one to use.
It isn't clear if beside the AuthZ requirement you had others, but given the scenario you described my suggestion would for you to go with Keycloak. First of all because you have already an onpremise IdP and with Keycloak you could maintain that setup (if privacy is a concern). Another important point is configuration and customization: I would assume with Spring OAuth you might have had some custom logic around authentication, this can be easily reconfigured in Keycloak by leveraging SPI (https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/server_development/index.html#_auth_spi). Finally AuthZ as a functionality is well developed, based on standard protocols and extensible on Keycloak (https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/authorization_services/)
You can also use Keycloak as an Identity Broker, which enables you to handle authentication on many different identity providers of your customers. With this setup, you are able to perform authorization tasks centralized.
We have good experience using Keycloak for SSO with OIDC with our Spring Boot based applications. It's free, easy to install and configure, extensible - so I recommend it.
Pros of OpenSSL
Pros of Spring Security
- Easy to use3
- Java integration3
