XML-Based Security - A New Challenge to I.T. Protection

There has been a sudden rise in the use of XML and the development of tools and specifications using XML such as web services. Contemporary solutions were found to be lacking facilities to secure XML based applications. This paper is a review of XML security specifications. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to assess and summarize the validity of current and contemporary tools and technologies. The literature review showed that there is a void as far as academic papers are concerned. From the available articles on computer science 10% are based on computer security and of that 4% are on XML Security. There is, now, a dire need for the academics, professional bodies and industry to speed up the development of XML security.