What is Subresource Integrity (SRI)?
Subresource integrity or SRI is a security feature that ensures information provided by third parties are delivered without manipulation. One of the main purposes behind this security feature is to provide the assessment of resources, summoned through CDNs or Content Delivery Networks, to verify that attackers did not contaminate the resources retrieved. An SRI is a low-risk solution that can be adopted by any online party as a means to secure information and content from third party hosts. This solution enables an integrity feature that enforces scripts to match on behalf of the browser to certify that the content is safe to load.
Why Use Subresource Integrity (SRI)?
Utilizing an SRI measure, ensures that users only engage with resources that match credible scripts to prevent any potential attacks that can occur through third party applications. For developers as well as users, a growing trend has been the increased reliance upon third party applications. Due to this growing dependency there is an increased possibility of threats and intrusions from attackers. Engaging with third party hosts allows for vulnerabilities within the server to occur, thus mandating an additional level of security that can protect the resources that users and developers wish to use.
Benefits of Using Subresource Integrity (SRI)
The idea behind a SRI solution reflects the shifting behaviors of users and developers online. Unfortunately, internet hosts are not immune to potential threats of attack and thus there is always a chance for servers to become exposed. Through SRI a line of simple code can engage with resources solicited by the user and assess if they are in fact the original content and have not been altered for any malicious intent. Below are the advantages of utilizing an SRI solution.
Safer Websites: This security measure provides a filter to verify that all resources and content requested by the user, remains in its original form. With this assurance, websites are at a lower risk of being infiltrated by attackers thus create safer online environments.
Engage Safely with Third Party Hosts: As mentioned above, third party applications are a growing behavior for users and developers alike. Part of the reason as to why an SRI security measure is important, is due to the lack of control users and developers have over third party applications. Even with a lack of control, interested parties can still solicit the information and resources that they desire from third party applications without fully risking the exposure of their servers to attackers.
Notifying Potential Threats: An additional advantage of utilizing SRI, is staying up to date when potential threats have infiltrated solicited resources. This can allow the vested parties, being the user or the developer, to closely monitor the suspicious activity as it occurs. This intimate perspective can train SRI beneficiaries to understand the various tactics and methods that attackers may use to infiltrate online materials.
