IBM Support

Encryption of user credentials in Information Server

Question & Answer


Question

For Information Server user management and DataStage credentials, where are the IDs and passwords stored? Are they stored as encrypted strings? If they are stored encrypted, what encryption method is being used?

Answer

If you are using the internal repository, the Information Server user credentials are stored in encrypted format in the xmeta database, using a private "single phase symmetric encryption" algorithm, making use of a collection of 32 16-bit keys used cyclically. The keys are embedded in the software itself, in an obfuscated manner. If you are using OS or LDAP authentication, the user credentials will be stored in those repositories in whatever encryption format they use.

Also, all the Information Server clients (DataStage/QualityStage Designer, Administrator, and Director) and the Information Server Console (IA/WISD UI) all use strong encryption by SSL when submitting credentials to the server for authentication.

The IBM Information Server Administration console uses the encryption provided by the html password field protocol.

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Document Information

More support for:
InfoSphere Information Services Director

Software version:
8.7, 8.5, 8.1, 8.0

Operating system(s):
AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows

Document number:
195437

Modified date:
16 June 2018

UID

swg21575667

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