How to Secure PDF API in Docker Using C#

Introduction

The secure PDF API is the powerhouse that enables developers to embed security into PDFs and use them within their workflows and applications. In contrast, there is a growing need for sensitive data to be locked down. Secure PDFs offer the necessary tools-watermarks, password protection, encryption, and digital signatures-to prevent compromise or leakage of data. In that respect, these APIs have the capability to enable the saving and sharing of PDFs in a manner that ensures security from illegal access, modification, and distribution. Among the primary ways for an organization to protect digital documents used either by the organization or an individual user, Secure PDF API takes prominence.

What is a PDF document?

The Portable Document Format document is a type of document file format widely adopted globally for the presentation and exchange of documents in a reliable way across diverse devices and platforms. The PDFs, developed by Adobe early in the 1990s, ensure that the formatting, fonts, images, and layout appearing in a document are retained, hence making the output documents identical in appearance whatever device, browser, or hardware is used for viewing.

Others might include text, image settings, hyperlinks, and insertion of forms for interaction-enabled, security features like document permissions such as encryption, passwords, and digital signatures. They are platform-independent and can be viewed on almost any device using PDF readers like Adobe Acrobat or through web browsers.

It is also perfect for sharing, copying, and archiving since it can't let any accidental edits take place or any change in appearance. PDFs are hugely used in everything from official documents and contracts down to eBooks, manuals, and all kinds of varieties of copying content, thus making them convertible and trustworthy for professional and personal uses alike.

What is Docker?

Docker is an open-source platform that, by leveraging containerization, enables easy creation, deployment, and management of an application. Containerization is a methodology that packages an application and its dependencies into a single, self-contained unit that would operate predictably in any environment. They are portable, lightweight, and super easy to manage.

Docker Features

Portability: The container runs on all platforms without modification. Whether development machines are staging servers or production environments, they simply run.

Isolation: Every container runs in isolation; hence, the applications with their dependencies do not interfere with each other.

Efficiency: Containers share the kernel of the host system; therefore, they are lightweight as compared to virtual machines.

Easy Deployment: Docker makes application deployment very fast, and minimal setup is required for that, which makes the integration and delivery of applications continuous, also known as the CI/CD pipeline.

Components of Docker

Docker Engine: This acts as the backbone behind Docker; responsible for building, running, and managing containers.

Docker Images: These are the read-only template output files that may be utilized in the creation of containers. It consists of the code for an application, runtime environments, and application dependencies.

Docker Container: The runtime instance of a Docker image.

Docker Hub: The cloud-based storage for publishing and sharing Docker images.

Docker is now gaining momentum, and it forms a part of the modern DevOps cycle because it guarantees predictability and speed at each touch point in application deployment.

What is IronSecureDoc?

IronSecureDoc is an advanced utility for document management and security, boasting robust encryption, digital signing, and advanced PDF manipulation. Providing both businesses and developers with confidentiality and integrity of documents with smooth access, this solution eases the processing of PDFs. It can also be used as an aggressive PDF API when its features are utilized that allow developers to programmatically generate, upload, manipulate, and secure PDF files and documents.

Other than that, IronSecureDoc is a PDF API that allows the creation of PDFs from any data input by adding and editing content using parameters such as text, images, and metadata. This also includes the facility of merging several PDFs, splitting documents, and even annotating with comments, highlights, or watermarks.

Among its security features are password protection, AES encryption, and certificate-based access controls that secure all sensitive information and data. Besides this, it allows digital signing for document authentication and nonrepudiation very important feature in industries like financial, medical, and legal. It also has audit trail functionality to allow tracking of all activities performed on the documents for better compliance and accountability.

IronSecureDoc as a PDF API

IronSecureDoc can also provide operating API on a PDF file to achieve the following:

• PDF Generation: It will, therefore, create a PDF document from raw data, text, or any other format of file.
• PDF Encryption: So as to securely guard against unauthorized use through strong algorithms of encryption, such as Advanced Encryption Standard.
• PDF Decryption: Decrypt the encrypted PDF with authorized keys/credentials.
• Document Signing: Digitally sign the PDF document in order to ensure authenticity and integrity.
• PDF Editing: Edit text, images, or metadata in already processed PDFs.
• Document Sharing: Share PDFs securely with embedded access control.

Features of IronSecureDoc

Advanced Encryption:

• Use industry-standard data encryption algorithms like AES-256 while securing documents against unauthorized access.

• Set the document open password (user passwords), and owner password for the PDF document. Digital Signatures:

• Use digital signatures on PDFs to ensure document authenticity.

• Ensure non-repudiation and tamper-proof of PDFs. Access Control:

• Permissions control that can be set for user or group-level access to certain data.

• PDF permissions control for view, edit, print, and copy. Audit Trail:

• Also, all the actions performed with documents should be monitored, and a detailed history should be obtained for different compliance and monitoring purposes. PDF Manipulation:

• Merge several PDF documents or split big documents into smaller ones.
• Annotate PDFs by adding comments, highlights, or watermarks.

• Carry out data extraction with its text extraction abilities. Cross-Platform Support:

• Easy integration via API with .NET, Java, and other environments.

• Usage across multi-platforms as Docker containers. Scalability and Performance:

• Optimized to support high document volumes within an enterprise environment.

• It provides the fastest speeds of processing even for complex operations. API Integration:

• It provides a well-documented API that is fully integrated with your custom applications. It also provides RESTful API calls for web-based implementations.

Install and Running IronSecureDoc

Pull the IronSecureDoc Docker image from the GitHub repository below by running this command at the Command Prompt or an open terminal window.

docker pull ironsoftwareofficial/ironsecuredoc

docker pull ironsoftwareofficial/ironsecuredoc

After pulling an image from the Docker container, we have another command to start the IronSecureDoc, an operating container.

docker container run --rm -p 8080:8080 -e IronSecureDoc_LicenseKey=<IRONSECUREDOC_LICENSE_KEY> -e ENVIRONMENT=Development -e HTTP_PORTS=8080 ironsoftwareofficial/ironsecuredoc:latest

docker container run --rm -p 8080:8080 -e IronSecureDoc_LicenseKey=<IRONSECUREDOC_LICENSE_KEY> -e ENVIRONMENT=Development -e HTTP_PORTS=8080 ironsoftwareofficial/ironsecuredoc:latest

The Docker run command above will create a container instance of the IronSecureDoc.

Adding Password to PDF document

The REST API of IronSecureDoc is a modern, web-based interface enabling developers to safely interact with the software's document management and PDF processing features. With the utilization of RESTful principles, this API provides users a simple and standardized way in which to integrate the functionalities of IronSecureDoc into custom applications, irrespective of the technology stack.

We might also want to request permissions password to this encrypt request with user password to a document by posting to the IronSecureDoc API like this:

curl -X 'POST' \
  'http://localhost:8080/v1/document-services/pdfs/encrypt?user_password=demo' \
  -H 'accept: */*' \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F 'pdf_file=@test.pdf;type=application/pdf'

curl -X 'POST' \
  'http://localhost:8080/v1/document-services/pdfs/encrypt?user_password=demo' \
  -H 'accept: */*' \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F 'pdf_file=@test.pdf;type=application/pdf'

This will automatically send and download the document output file, which will be stored properly and secured.

Signing a PDF Document

Below is the sample code that would help us digitally sign a PDF document with the certificate file.

curl -X POST 'http://localhost:8080/v1/document-services/pdfs/certify' \
  -H 'accept: */*' \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F 'pdf_file=@Demo.pdf;type=application/pdf' \
  -F 'certificate_file=@DemoSign.pfx;type=application/x-pkcs12' \
  -F 'certificate_password="p4ssw0rd"' \
  -F 'certificate_permissions=1' \

curl -X POST 'http://localhost:8080/v1/document-services/pdfs/certify' \
  -H 'accept: */*' \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F 'pdf_file=@Demo.pdf;type=application/pdf' \
  -F 'certificate_file=@DemoSign.pfx;type=application/x-pkcs12' \
  -F 'certificate_password="p4ssw0rd"' \
  -F 'certificate_permissions=1' \

The following code will send a message to the console first, stating that it has begun the processing of files. Confirmed after that will be the creation of an IronSecureDocClient using the URL for a locally hosted IronSecureDoc service. Below is the sample PDF file.

This method will then make an asynchronous attempt to connect to the service. If all goes well, it calls the CertifyAsync method to perform the actual PDF document signing, passing the paths to the PDF file, the PDF signature certificate file, and the certificate password. The result of that-that is, that a byte array of the signed PDF will then be saved in a new file called certify.pdf.

In the above-processed file, the PDF document has been signed by the digital certificate.

Conclusion

IronSecureDoc REST API is a powerful but flexible solution for modern applications to secure and manage PDFs. The key use scenarios were encryption, digital signing, modifying text annotations, and heavy manipulations with PDFs, from simple file handling to complex enterprise workflows. Because of its RESTful nature, it will easily interface with a wide range of platforms and technologies, making it a great choice of secure PDF API.

Dependable and Compliant: It is dependable and compliant, since it offers complete audit abilities, with high security. Using IronSecureDoc REST API, safe printing and effective, PDF format and handling can now be easily integrated with applications created by web, mobile, and corporate systems developers. To read more about the license of Ironsecuredoc, click this page. For information about the products of Iron Software, follow this link.