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Guide: Same Origin Policy – Explanation and Exam Tips

The Same Origin Policy (SOP) is a critical concept in web security. Its importance lies in its role as a fundamental security mechanism within web applications.

What is Same Origin Policy?
SOP is a standard that restricts how a document or script loaded from one origin can interact with a resource from another origin. It helps to isolate potentially malicious documents, reducing possible attack vectors.

How does Same Origin Policy work?
SOP works by allowing scripts running on pages originating from the same site – a combination of scheme, hostname, and port number – to access each other's Document Object Model (DOM) with no specific restrictions, but preventing access to DOM on different sites. This is crucial for preventing malicious cross-site scripting.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Same Origin Policy
While discussing SOP in exam answers, ensure to mention the following points: SOP is pivotal to web security because it restricts document or script interactions to the same origin. This restriction helps prevent potential data theft or malicious attacks like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). SOP allows unrestricted interactions only when scheme, hostname, and port number match. Remember to cite practical scenarios to illustrate your understanding of the policy's functions.

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Same Origin Policy practice test

The Same-Origin Policy (SOP) is a crucial web security concept implemented by browsers to prevent web pages from different domains from sharing data or resource access. Through this policy, web pages from one site can't interact with data or resources from another site unless both pages share the same origin - same domain, same protocol (HTTP or HTTPS), and same port. SOP helps mitigate various security risks, such as unauthorized access to sensitive user information, by confining web pages within a security sandbox and preventing unauthorized access to potentially sensitive data.

Time: 5 minutes   Questions: 5

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CompTIA Security+ Preparation Package (2024)

  • 2083 Superior-grade CompTIA Security+ practice questions.
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