What Does Web Services Security (WS Security) Mean?
Web Services Security (WS Security) is a specification that defines how security measures are implemented in web services to protect them from external attacks. It is a set of protocols that ensure security for SOAP-based messages by implementing the principles of confidentiality, integrity and authentication.
Techopedia Explains Web Services Security (WS Security)
The aim of WS-Security is to ensure that communication between two parties is not interrupted or interpreted by an unauthorized third party. The receiver needs to be assured that the message was indeed sent by the sender, and the sender should be assured the receiver cannot deny receiving the message. Finally, the data sent during communication should not be altered by an unauthorized source. All data related to security is added as part of the SOAP header. Therefore, a considerable overhead is imposed on the SOAP message formation when security mechanisms are activated.
