OWIN Middleware for Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

Article

Objectives

• Provide seamless OWIN middleware component to support run-time key exchanges.
• Provide symmetric encryption capabilities for data between two endpoints.
• Remove the need for custom key management or configuration.

Review

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm, commonly used in SSH, secures the transport of data between two endpoints by generating a run-time key without sending the key over the wire. This simple method provides a secure way to encrypt information beyond the known TLS/SSL methods and its vulnerabilities. This library provides a simple way to extend any OWIN web application and provide a secure channel of communication without configuration overhead or manual key sharing.

Installation

1. Install via NuGet

   • Add the FWF.KeyExchange.Owin nuget package to your existing solution.

2. Add the UseKeyExchange method to your IAppBuilder setup

// Use KeyExchange middleware to handle the key exchange
var bootstrapper = new FWFKeyExchangeBootstrapper();
appBuilder.UseKeyExchange(bootstrapper);

3. Use the KeyExchangeHttpClient component to make HTTP(s) calls using the shared encryption key

// Send the message to remote endpoint once the key exchange
// has taken place and the message is encrypted over the wire
using (var http = new KeyExchangeHttpClient(bootstrapper))
{
    http.SendPayload(rootUrl, plainTextMessage);
}