Security Enhancements in Java 17: What You Need to Know?

Java 17, The latest version of Java, comes with several new features and enhancements, also including the importance of security enhancement. In this blog,  We will discuss security enhancement. But first, we have to know what is java 17 and its features.

What is Java 17? 

It is the latest version of Java programming language released in September 2021. It is the result of efforts by the Java Community Framework (JCP) and the OpenJDK community to improve the Java language, libraries, and runtime. Improve more skills in Java with Java Training Course in Greater Noida.

Features of Java 17:

• Improved garbage collection with ZGC – ZGC is a new garbage collector added in version 17 of the Java platform. It provides low latency and garbage collection for applications that require large heaps, making it suitable for use in cloud environments.
• Performance improvements – Java 17 includes several performance improvements including faster debugging and better memory usage. These improvements can improve the overall performance and productivity of Java programs.
• Enhanced support for Unicode 13.0 – Java 17 includes updates to the Unicode standard, including support for new characters and subscripts. This can help improve the development of Java applications and make them more accessible to users around the world.
• Sealed classes and interfaces – Sealed classes and relationships allow developers to control inheritance and limit the number of subclasses that can be created. This can help improve performance and maintainability by preventing unexpected changes to the class hierarchy.
• Pattern matching for instance – This feature simplifies the process of checking object types at runtime by introducing a new interface for set types. This feature allows developers to reduce the amount of base code needed to parse characters, making it shorter and more readable.
• Switch expressions – This feature extends the default language to support specific languages. This makes transition messages short and clear, reducing the amount of native code required for simple ownership.
• New APIs for working with sockets and streams – Java 17 introduces several new APIs that make working with Pods and Streams easier. These APIs provide high performance and scalability, making it easy to build great web applications.

Security Enhancement in Java 17

1. Updated Cryptographic Algorithms

Java 17 includes updates to older encryption algorithms used by the Java platform. These innovations are aimed at improving the security of cryptographic services, especially in the areas of key exchange and digital signatures. 

2. TLS 1.3 

Java 17 includes support for TLS 1.3, the latest version of the TLS protocol. TLS 1.3 provides improved security and performance compared to previous protocols.

TLS 1.3 includes several new features and enhancements, including

• Support for 0-RTT connections, which can improve performance for clients that initiate a connection to a server.
• Simple hand-washing techniques can reduce errors and mistakes.
• Security is improved due to key exchange algorithms and package encryption.

3. Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

Java 17 introduces support for Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), a promising alternative to traditional algorithms such as RSA and DSA. ECC provides the same level of security as normal algorithms, but requires a smaller footprint, making it faster and more efficient.

4. Stronger Default Security Settings

Java 17 includes improved security features that can improve the security of applications running on the platform. Some of these settings can be found in the following: 

• Setting the “jdk.serialFilter” system property to a more restrictive value by default.
• Restricting access to certain dangerous APIs by default.
• Using a stronger default value for the “jdk.tls.server.protocols” system property.

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