Adobe announced this week that it's putting the finishing touches on a new version of Flash Player that will provide new security and privacy enhancements on both the desktop and mobile versions of its application. Notably, Flash Player 11--set to debut in early October--adds desktop support for SSL socket connections, as well as a secure, random number generator, both of which should help developers to better secure users' information. "Flash Player previously provided a basic, random number generator through Math.random. This was good enough for games and other lighter-weight use cases, but it didn't meet the complete cryptographic standards for random number generation," said Adobe
New Security Features in Flash Player 11:-
On the security front, Adobe is introducing several new features that will allow developers to better protect customer data. The first major new feature being added by Adobe is support for SSL socket connections, which will make it easier for developers to protect the data they stream over the Flash Player raw socket connections.
Adobe is also adding a secure random number generator. Flash Player previously provided a basic, random number generator through Math.random. This was good enough for games and other lighter-weight use cases, but it didn’t meet the complete cryptographic standards for random number generation. The new random number generator API hooks the cryptographic provider of the host device, such as the CryptGenRandom function in Microsoft CAPI on Windows, for generating the random number. The native OS cryptographic providers have better sources of entropy and have been peer reviewed by industry experts.
Lastly, the introduction of 64-bit support in Flash Player 11 brings with it some security side-benefits: If you are using a 64-bit browser that supports address space layout randomization (ASLR) in conjunction with the 64-bit version of Flash Player, you will be protected by 64-bit ASLR. Traditional 32-bit ASLR only has a small number of bits available in the memory address for randomizing locations. Memory addresses based on 64-bit registers have a wider range of free bits for randomization, increasing the effectiveness of ASLR.
Overall, Adobe security and privacy roadmap still has much more to come, and Adobe is already working on the next generation of features for upcoming releases. To take a look at the many new features in Flash Player 11—whether it be the advancements for gaming, media and data-driven applications, the security enhancements or the new mobile privacy features—check out the release candidate of Flash Player 11 for desktops now available on Adobe Labs or watch for an announcement once Flash Player 11 for desktops and Android devices becomes available in early October.
Adobe is also adding a secure random number generator. Flash Player previously provided a basic, random number generator through Math.random. This was good enough for games and other lighter-weight use cases, but it didn’t meet the complete cryptographic standards for random number generation. The new random number generator API hooks the cryptographic provider of the host device, such as the CryptGenRandom function in Microsoft CAPI on Windows, for generating the random number. The native OS cryptographic providers have better sources of entropy and have been peer reviewed by industry experts.
Lastly, the introduction of 64-bit support in Flash Player 11 brings with it some security side-benefits: If you are using a 64-bit browser that supports address space layout randomization (ASLR) in conjunction with the 64-bit version of Flash Player, you will be protected by 64-bit ASLR. Traditional 32-bit ASLR only has a small number of bits available in the memory address for randomizing locations. Memory addresses based on 64-bit registers have a wider range of free bits for randomization, increasing the effectiveness of ASLR.
Overall, Adobe security and privacy roadmap still has much more to come, and Adobe is already working on the next generation of features for upcoming releases. To take a look at the many new features in Flash Player 11—whether it be the advancements for gaming, media and data-driven applications, the security enhancements or the new mobile privacy features—check out the release candidate of Flash Player 11 for desktops now available on Adobe Labs or watch for an announcement once Flash Player 11 for desktops and Android devices becomes available in early October.
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