One day Mickey was driving his car when he saw Minnie on the bus stop
Mickey – Hey Minnie
Minnie – Oh! Hi Mickey
Mickey – What are you doing here
Minnie – Waiting for my bus to go home
Mickey – Don’t worry come in, I will drop you
Minnie – Thanks Mickey
Mickey – You look worried
Minnie – I heard people talking about something called CSRF. What is that?
Mickey – Oh, hey Minnie! CSRF stands for Cross-Site Request Forgery. It’s a bit like a sneaky trick some bad guys play on websites.
Minnie – Oh no, that sounds scary! What exactly happens in CSRF?
Mickey – Well, imagine you have a magical cookie that lets you into a secret clubhouse. Now, let’s say someone tricks you into giving them that cookie without you knowing.
Minnie – A magical cookie? Like the ones we bake in the clubhouse?
Mickey – Exactly! So, picture this – You’re happily baking cookies in the clubhouse, and a friend you trust, let’s call him Goofy, comes in and asks for a cookie. You happily give him one.
Minnie – Oh, I see! But how is that like CSRF?
Mickey – Well, imagine if Goofy was actually working for a villain, and he uses the cookie you gave him to get into the secret clubhouse and cause mischief.
Minnie – Oh dear, that sounds bad! But how does it relate to computers?
Mickey – Great question! In the computer world, websites use something similar to cookies to know if you’re the real you. Now, imagine if a sneaky website tricked you into unknowingly sending a request to another website, like changing your secret password.
Minnie – So, it’s like Goofy tricking me into giving him a cookie, but in the computer world?
Mickey – Exactly! The sneaky website makes you do something you didn’t intend, just like Goofy making you give him a cookie without knowing his evil plans.
Minnie – But how can we stop this sneaky trick?
Mickey – Well, websites use special tokens, like secret passwords for each action. Imagine if you and I had a secret handshake before you give me a cookie. If Goofy doesn’t know the handshake, he can’t trick us.
Minnie – Oh, I get it now! So, websites have secret handshakes to make sure the requests are from the real users.
Mickey – You got it, Minnie! It’s like having a secret code to make sure only the good guys can do important things on the websites. So, next time you’re online, always watch out for those sneaky villains trying to trick you!
Minnie – Hey Mickey, I still don’t understand how CSRF works in the real world.
Mickey – No problem, Minnie! Let’s imagine you have a magical online diary. You log into it every day to write your thoughts and secrets.
Minnie – Oh, like a digital version of my diary with a lock!
Mickey – Exactly! Now, imagine you’re also a member of an online crafting club. You log into your crafting club account to share your latest creations with friends.
Minnie – Sounds like a lot of fun! But how does CSRF fit in?
Mickey – Well, let’s say you’re logged into your crafting club, and without you knowing, a mischievous friend sends you a link while you’re happily chatting about your latest craft project.
Minnie – What happens when I click the link?
Mickey – That link contains a sneaky request (javascript code) that tells your browser to do something in your online diary, like changing your password or deleting all your entries.
Reference: https://www.okta.com/identity-101/csrf-attack/
Minnie – Oh no! How did that happen?
Mickey – The mischievous friend knew that you were logged into your crafting club. Since your browser automatically includes your authentication cookies for that site, it sends a request to your online diary as if it’s coming from you.
Minnie – That’s like someone taking advantage of my open diary to mess with it!
Mickey – Precisely! It’s like a friend handing you a note in the crafting club, but the note secretly tells your diary to do something bad. The diary thinks it’s you making the request because it came from your browser with the right cookies.
Minnie – That’s tricky! How can I protect my online diary from such sneaky moves?
Mickey – Just like we talked about before, websites often use special tokens or passphrases. So, in our story, your online diary would require an extra secret code before it accepts any changes. That way, even if a sneaky link tries to mess with it, it won’t work without the right secret code.
Minnie – Ah, got it! So, it’s like putting an extra lock on my diary to keep it safe from tricksters.
Mickey – Exactly, Minnie! Always keep an eye out for those sneaky links and make sure your online spaces have that extra layer of protection.
Minnie – Ok, I feel so good now
Mickey – Great and here comes your home
Minnie – Don’t Stop. Let’s go to some place where we can discuss some more stories
Mickey – Sure, ma’am
Minnie – You are my best friend
Mickey – I am always here for you 🙂
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