Techniques for securing authentication credentials on a client device during submission in browser-based cloud applications

1. A method for securing authentication credentials on a client device comprising:

detecting, on the client device, display of an authentication form in a browser window associated with a first flow to a target server, the authentication form requiring input of one or more authentication credentials associated with a user of the client device in order to grant to the client device access to one or more resources;

accessing, on the client device, data corresponding to the one or more authentication credentials required by the authentication form;

submitting, to the target server, the same one or more authentication credentials required by the authentication form associated with the first flow via a second flow to the target server in order to bypass the first flow without providing the authentication credentials via the first flow, wherein the second flow is not associated with the browser window such that the submission of the authentication credentials is not subject to interception by one or more browser plug-ins; and

accessing, on the client device, the one or more resources without providing the one or more authentication credentials to the authentication form in the browser window associated with the first flow.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more authentication credentials comprise at least one of a username and a password.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting display of the authentication form comprises identifying one or more authentication fields within the authentication form.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein accessing the one or more authentication credentials comprises accessing a pre-established password vault associated with the user.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein accessing the one or more authentication credentials comprises receiving the one or more authentication credentials via a secure window that is distinct from the browser window.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:

inputting one or more random credentials into the authentication form in the browser window associated with the first flow;

initiating the submission of the one or more random credentials via the authentication form such that the submission of the random credentials is subject to interception by one or more browser plug-ins;

detecting the initiation of the submission of the one or more random credentials to the target server via the first flow; and

cancelling the submission of the one or more random credentials to the target server.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first flow is associated with a traditional process for submitting the one or more authentication credentials to the target server.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second flow is associated with an alternative process for submitting the one or more authentication credentials to the target server.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, from the target server, an authentication request result.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the authentication request result comprises at least one of an authentication cookie, a redirect instruction, and a document.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising injecting the authentication request result into a requesting document.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying a home page associated with the one or more resources.

13. An article of manufacture for securing authentication credentials on a client device, the article of manufacture comprising:

at least one non-transitory processor readable medium; and

instructions stored on the at least one medium;

wherein the instructions are configured to be readable from the at least one medium by at least one processor and thereby cause the at least one processor to operate so as to:

detect, on the client device, display of an authentication form in a browser window associated with a first flow to a target server, the authentication form requiring input of one or more authentication credentials associated with a user of the client device in order to grant to the client device access to one or more resources;

access, on the client device, data corresponding to the one or more authentication credentials required by the authentication form;

submit, to the target server, the same one or more authentication credentials required by the authentication form associated with the first flow via a second flow to the target server in order to bypass the first flow without providing the authentication credentials via the first flow, wherein the second flow is not associated with the browser window such that the submission of the authentication credentials is not subject to interception by one or more browser plug-ins; and

access, on the client device, the one or more resources without providing the one or more authentication credentials to the authentication form in the browser window associated with the first flow.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 13 , wherein the one or more authentication credentials comprise at least one of a username and a password.

15. A system for securing authentication credentials on a client device comprising:

one or more processors communicatively coupled to a network, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

detect, on the client device, display of an authentication form in a browser window associated with a first flow to a target server, the authentication form requiring input of one or more authentication credentials associated with a user of the client device in order to grant to the client device access to one or more resources;

access, on the client device, data corresponding to the one or more authentication credentials required by the authentication form;

submit, to the target server, the same one or more authentication credentials required by the authentication form associated with the first flow via a second flow to the target server in order to bypass the first flow without providing the authentication credentials via the first flow, wherein the second flow is not associated with the browser window such that the submission of the authentication credentials is not subject to interception by one or more browser plug-ins; and

access, on the client device, the one or more resources without providing the one or more authentication credentials to the authentication form in the browser window associated with the first flow.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more authentication credentials comprise at least one of a username and a password.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect display of the authentication form by identifying one or more authentication fields within the authentication form.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to access the one or more authentication credentials by accessing a pre-established password vault associated with the user.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to access the one or more authentication credentials by receiving the one or more authentication credentials via a secure window distinct from the browser window.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to submit, to the target server, the one or more authentication credentials via the second flow by:

inputting one or more random credentials into the authentication form in the browser window associated with the first flow;

initiating the submission of the one or more random credentials via the authentication form such that the submission of the random credentials is subject to interception by one or more browser plug-ins;

detecting the initiation of the submission of the one or more random credentials to the target server via the first flow; and

cancelling the submission of the one or more random credentials to the target server.