Class SecurityHelper

A class that contains methods for managing secure data processing and cryptography.

Inheritance
object
SecurityHelper
Namespace: CapyKit.Helpers
Assembly: CapyKit.dll
Syntax
public class SecurityHelper

Methods

CompareHashedPassword(Password, string, byte[], IPasswordAlgorithm, params object[])

Compares an unencrypted password with a stored, encrypted existingPassword. This method uses the specified algorithm to retrieve the hashed version of the password and then compares it with the existingPassword.

Declaration
public static bool CompareHashedPassword(Password existingPassword, string password, byte[] salt, IPasswordAlgorithm algorithm, params object[] args)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Password existingPassword

The existing, encrypted password.
string password

The unencrypted password to be compared.
byte[] salt

The salt value used in password hashing.
IPasswordAlgorithm algorithm

The password hashing algorithm.
object[] args

Additional arguments required for constructing the password algorithm instance.
Returns
Type Description
bool

true if hash comparison succeeds, false if it fails.

CompareHashedPassword<T>(Password, string, byte[], params object[])

Compares an unencrypted password with a stored, encrypted existingPassword. This method uses the specified password algorithm type T to retrieve the hashed version of the password and then compares it with the existingPassword.

Declaration
public static bool CompareHashedPassword<T>(Password existingPassword, string password, byte[] salt, params object[] args)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Password existingPassword

The existing, encrypted password.
string password

The unencrypted password to be compared.
byte[] salt

The salt value used in password hashing.
object[] args

Additional arguments required for constructing the password algorithm instance.
Returns
Type Description
bool

true if hash comparison succeeds, false if it fails.
Type Parameters
Name Description
T

The type of the password hashing algorithm.

CompareSessionID(string, string)

Compares two session identifiers.

Declaration
public static bool CompareSessionID(string first, string second)
Parameters
Type Name Description
string first

The first session identifier.
string second

The second session identifier.
Returns
Type Description
bool

true if comparison succeeds, false if not.

GetPassword<T>(string, byte[], params object[])

Retrieves a Password object using the specified password, salt, and optional constructor arguments.

Declaration
public static Password GetPassword<T>(string password, byte[] salt, params object[] args) where T : IPasswordAlgorithm
Parameters
Type Name Description
string password

The plaintext password to be hashed.
byte[] salt

A random value used as an additional input to the one-way function that hashes data, a password or passphrase. This is used to make each output different for the same input thus adding security.
object[] args

Optional constructor arguments for the IPasswordAlgorithm implementation instance.
Returns
Type Description
Password

A new Password object with the given password and salt, as well as an instance of T created using the provided constructor arguments.
Type Parameters
Name Description
T

The type of IPasswordAlgorithm implementation to use.
Remarks

This method uses reflection to find a constructor for the specified password algorithm type (T). It emits an error event if a suitable constructor is not found or if there is an error invoking the constructor.

GetPassword<T>(string, params object[])

Retrieves a Password object using the specified password and generates a random salt value. Then it uses that salt to call the overloaded GetPassword<T>(string, byte[], params object[]) method with the given password and the generated salt as arguments.

Declaration
public static Password GetPassword<T>(string password, params object[] args)
Parameters
Type Name Description
string password

The plaintext password to be hashed.
object[] args

Optional constructor arguments for the IPasswordAlgorithm implementation instance.
Returns
Type Description
Password

A new Password object with the given password and a randomly generated salt, as well as an instance of T created using any optional constructor arguments provided.
Type Parameters
Name Description
T

The type of IPasswordAlgorithm implementation to use.
See Also
SALT_SIZE

GetRandomPassword(int, params ValidCharacterCollection[])

Gets a cryptographically strong random password.

Declaration
public static string GetRandomPassword(int length, params ValidCharacterCollection[] validCharacters)
Parameters
Type Name Description
int length

The length of the password to generate.
ValidCharacterCollection[] validCharacters

An array of ValidCharacterCollection enumeration values representing the desired character sets.
Returns
Type Description
string

The password.

GetRandomString(int)

A convenience method to generate a random string of the specified length using all character sets.

Declaration
public static string GetRandomString(int length)
Parameters
Type Name Description
int length

The desired length of the generated random string.
Returns
Type Description
string
See Also

GetRandomString(int, params ValidCharacterCollection[])

Gets a cryptographically strong random string using the character values found in VALID_CHARACTERS.

Declaration
public static string GetRandomString(int length, params ValidCharacterCollection[] validChars)
Parameters
Type Name Description
int length

The length of the string to create.
ValidCharacterCollection[] validChars
Returns
Type Description
string

The random string.

GetSalt(int)

Generates a random byte array that can act as a salt.

Declaration
public static byte[] GetSalt(int length = 32)
Parameters
Type Name Description
int length

(Optional) The desired length of the generated byte array.
Returns
Type Description
byte[]

An array of byte.
Remarks

A default length of CapyKit.Helpers.SecurityHelper.SALT_SIZE is provided as a sane default. Larger values can be used for increased entropy.

Pbkdf2(string)

Generates a new Password object using the PBKDF2 algorithm with the provided password. This overload of the method generates a random salt value for added security.

Declaration
public static Password Pbkdf2(string password)
Parameters
Type Name Description
string password

The clear text password to be hashed.
Returns
Type Description
Password

A new Password object containing the hashed password and a randomly generated salt.
Remarks

This method uses the PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2) algorithm to generate a new password hash. The algorithm iteratively applies a pseudorandom function to the password and salt, which increases the security of the resulting hash. In this overload, a random salt value is generated using GetRandomBytes(int) method.

Pbkdf2(string, byte[])

Generates a new Password object using the PBKDF2 algorithm with the provided password and salt.

Declaration
public static Password Pbkdf2(string password, byte[] salt)
Parameters
Type Name Description
string password

The clear text password to be hashed.
byte[] salt

A random value used to add an additional layer of security to the generated hash.
Returns
Type Description
Password

A new Password object containing the hashed password and salt.
Remarks

This method uses the PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2) algorithm to generate a new password hash. The algorithm iteratively applies a pseudorandom function to the password and salt, which increases the security of the resulting hash.