# WS-Security

WS-Security provides means to secure your services above and beyond transport level protocols such as HTTPS. Through a number of standards such as XML-Encryption, and headers defined in the WS-Security standard, it allows you to:

* Pass authentication tokens between services

* Encrypt messages or parts of messages

* Sign messages

* Timestamp messages

CXF relies on [WSS4J](http://ws.apache.org/wss4j) in large part to implement WS-Security. Within your own services, WS-Security can be activated by using WS-SecurityPolicy, which provides a comprehensive and sophisticated validation of the security properties of a received message. A non-WS-SecurityPolicy approach is usually also possible by way of CXF interceptors added to your service and/or client as detailed in this section.

### In this section

* [Overview of encryption and signing](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/esb-service-developer-guide/7.3/overview-of-encryption-and-signing)
* [Configuring the WSS4J Interceptors](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/esb-service-developer-guide/7.3/configuring-wss4j-interceptors)
* [Spring XML Configuration](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/esb-service-developer-guide/7.3/spring-xml-configuration)
* [Configuring WS-Security Actions](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/esb-service-developer-guide/7.3/configuring-ws-security-actions)