Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection 1.0.2

Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection

Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection is a library that provides a helpful class for hiding sensitive properties within a C# object of pre-defined type, even if they are nested within other objects or arrays. This library allows you to go through an object and its nested structures, like sub-objects and lists, to find any properties with sensitive keywords in their names.

The class uses a default array of sensative keywords i.e { "pass", "secret", "key", "pwd", "token" }. Once identified, the values of these properties are replaced with null, ensuring that the sensitive information is hidden. It's a convenient tool to protect important data, such as passwords or tokens, in your application.

Features

• Iterate over any C# object and its nested structures like sub-objects and lists and hide sensitive properties regardless of depth
• Has versatile set of keywords to match almost every sensative properties that an entity may contain. Example, "pass" matches with Password, password, UserPass. "token" matches with JwtToken, AuthToken. "key" matches with ApiKey.
• Supports custom set of sensitive keywords to match against property names to match your application needs
• Supports customization of maximum depth of the recursion loop (default value is 10)
• Supports classes, records, and pre-defined types (anonymous objects are not supported)

Installation

You can install the Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection library via NuGet. Run the following command in the NuGet Package Manager Console:

Install-Package Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection

Usage

1. Create an instance of the Helper class, which provides various constructors to customize the behavior:

Helper helper = new Helper();

2. Call the HideSensativeProperties method and pass the object you want to process:

MyClass myObject = new MyClass();
helper.HideSensativeProperties(myObject);

The HideSensativeProperties method will recursively iterate over the object and its nested structures, like sub-objects and lists, searching for property names that contain sensitive keywords regardless of depth. If a match is found, the property value will be set to null. The method modifies the existing object, don't return anything.

Customization

Custom Set of Sensitive Keywords

You can provide your own set of sensitive keywords to match against property names by using the constructor that accepts an array of strings:

string[] customKeywords = new string[] { "custom", "keywords" };
Helper helper = new Helper(customKeywords);

Maximum Depth of Recursion Loop

By default, the maximum depth of the recursion loop is set to 10. You can customize this value using the constructor that accepts an integer:

int maxDepth = 3;
Helper helper = new Helper(maxDepth);

⚠️ Warning: If the maximum depth is too large, sometimes the recursion loop can get into System.Runtime or .dll files. Beware of that!

Custom Set of Keywords and Maximum Depth

If you want to customize both the sensitive keywords and the maximum depth of the recursion loop, use the constructor that accepts both parameters:

string[] customKeywords = new string[] { "counter", "deleted", "created", "updated", "hidden", "popularity" };
int maxDepth = 50;
Helper helper = new Helper(customKeywords, maxDepth);

Example

Here's a complete example of using Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection to hide sensitive properties within nested objects and arrays across multiple levels of depth:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Sayeed.NETCore.DataProtection;

public class Teacher
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Password { get; set; }
    public string Token { get; set; }
    public Website Website { get; set; }
    public IList<Student> Students { get; set; }
}

public class Website
{
    public string ApiKey { get; set; }
    public int Port { get; set; }
    public string Host { get; set; }
}

public class Student
{
    public string Roll { get; set; }
    public string StudentSecret { get; set; }
}

// Initializing the helper class
Helper helper = new Helper();

// Use your own set of custom keywords to match your business needs.
// Helper helper = new Helper(new string[] { "deletedBy", "counter", "count", "deletedAt" });

// Create an object with sensitive properties
Teacher teacher = new Teacher
{
    Name = "John Doe",
    Password = "secretpassword",
    Token = "sometoken",
    Website = new Website
    {
        ApiKey = "zxcvbnmlkjhgfdsa",
        Port = 5000,
        Host = "localhost"
    },
    Students = new List<Student>
    {
        new Student { Roll = "002", StudentSecret = "abababababbabb" },
        new Student { Roll = "003", StudentSecret = "zzxzxzxzxzxzx" },
    }
};

// Hide sensitive properties inside the entity
helper.HideSensitiveProperties(teacher);

// Sensitive properties are now null
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Name); // "John Doe" (not sensitive)
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Password); // null (property name contains sensitive keyword)
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Token); // null (property name contains sensitive keyword)

Console.WriteLine(teacher.Website.ApiKey); // null (property name contains sensitive keyword)
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Website.Port); // 5000 (not sensitive)
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Website.Host); // "localhost" (not sensitive)

Console.WriteLine(teacher.Students[0].Roll); // "002" (not sensitive)
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Students[0].StudentSecret); // null (property name contains sensitive keyword)

Console.WriteLine(teacher.Students[1].Roll); // "003" (not sensitive)
Console.WriteLine(teacher.Students[1].StudentSecret); // null (property name contains sensitive keyword)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.

License

This library is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Acknowledgements

This library was developed by Md. Sayeed Rahman.