I have a basic Ajax webpage that interacts with a Java backend hosted on Tomcat. My webpage utilizes Google Analytics, among other services. I recently noticed that Google Analytics cookies (like __utma) were present in my Tomcat access logs. I believe this occurrence is linked to the webpage being a part of the same app with a common domain and the cookies having a path of ‘/’. Apart from relocating the API to a different host, what other strategies can I employ to stop Google Analytics cookies from reaching my backend?
One effective approach is to implement server-side filtering that specifically blocks or strips away cookies before requests reach your backend logic. This can be done by configuring a servlet filter in Tomcat that intercepts incoming HTTP requests and removes any irrelevant or unwanted cookies, such as Google Analytics cookies, based on their names or other characteristics. This way, the cookies are discarded before your Java application processes them, thus preventing access via the backend while retaining the same domain configuration for your Ajax page.
You could use a Reverse proxy like Nginx to selectively block or neutralize tracking cookies. By setting rules in Nginx configuration, you can remove or rewrite cookies that should not be passed along to your backend, making your setup work without accessibility issues.
Have you thought about using sameSite attribute on your cookies settings? Maybe tweaking those so they don’t get sent cross-domain could work. I’m super curious tho, do you think your app should handle different user data protection methods as well? What else have you considered?
Consider utilizing Content Security Policy (CSP) to enhance your server security. By configuring your CSP headers, you can control which domains are permitted to send requests or include resources within your application. This can effectively restrict or prevent cookies from tracking services like Google Analytics from being included in cross-origin requests to your backend. Additionally, CSP can protect against other common vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting (XSS), making it a robust approach to securing communication between your client-side and server-side components.
Hey Iris72, you could try using CORS settings to manage what requests are allowed to interact with your backend. By setting strict CORS policies, you might prevent those tracking cookies from being sent along, since their requests may get blocked if not aligned with your policy. Might worth a look!