Published Release Notes

View status of custom search indexes

Custom search indexes are special purpose indexes that are created and managed outside of Pega Platform™. You can view the status of custom search indexes on the Search landing page to see whether they are complete. This information is useful for troubleshooting and can help you determine whether to rebuild the index.

For more information, see Checking search index status.

Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization code grant type

Pega Platform™ now supports the OAuth 2.0 authorization code grant type, which allows Pega Platform to act as an OAuth 2.0 access token provider for native applications on mobile and other devices. By using the authorization code grant type for mobile clients, you no longer need to implement a variety of standards for various authentication providers. The authorization code grant type also supports the Proof Key for Code Exchange standard (PKCE) for securing public clients.

For more information, see Creating and configuring an OAuth 2.0 client registration.

Use client-based access control to support EU GDPR requirements

You can use client-based access control (CBAC) to satisfy the data privacy requirements of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar regulations. By using client-based access control, you can identify the personal data of clients and automatically process requests to view, update, or remove the data in a secure manner. You can also enforce restrictions on the use of this data in application functions.

For more information, see Client-based access control.

Support for the JSON Web Token Bearer grant type for accessing external APIs

You can now access external APIs by using the new OAuth 2.0 JSON Web Token (JWT) Bearer grant type, in an OAuth 2.0 authentication profile. To use the JWT Bearer grant type as a client assertion, source the JWT from an active SSO session, a token profile, or a property reference. You can use JWTs that you obtain during an OpenID Connect SSO in connectors, to achieve user impersonation flows, such as the On-Behalf-Of (OBO) flow. The OAuth 2.0 type authentication profile now also supports authentication of client applications by using Private Key JWTs.

Instances of the OAuth 2.0 provider are now deprecated. As a best practice, use the new, unified authentication profile configuration instead.

For more information, see Configuring an OAuth 2.0 authentication profile.

Upgrade impact

After an upgrade to Pega Platform 8.4 and later, Authentication Profiles can take advantage of the new JWT based OAuth 2.0 grant type and client authentication features. To take advantage of this and other new security features, you must update any existing Authentication Profiles formats must to use those in Pega Platform 8.4 and later.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

Since these features are available only for profiles created in Pega Platform 8.4 and later, clients must open and then save existing 'Authentication Profile' instances to ensure that the configuration is compatible with the latest authentication formats.

Sign and encrypt signatures and content with additional algorithms

You can now authenticate using JSON Web Token (JWT) token profiles to symmetrically and asymmetrically encrypt both signatures and content. All algorithms in the Nimbus JWT library are supported, including nested tokens. Custom key identifier headers (kid) are also supported. Use token profiles to securely propagate identities and transfer data between systems.

For more information, see Creating a processing JSON Web token profile.

For more information, see Creating a generation JSON Web token profile.

Ability to generate a dedicated search index for a case type

You can generate a dedicated search index for a case type. Using a dedicated index makes reporting faster without putting additional requirements on the database. 

For more information, see Including indexed data during case search.

New tile view in Report Browser

The Report Browser now displays available reports in a tile view, in addition to the list view. You can toggle between the two display formats. The report tiles provide a thumbnail preview of each report, which makes it easier for you to identify reports at a glance, without having to open each report.

For more information, see Report Browser features.

Data encryption support for system data

You can now control system-level data security by using data encryption in Pega Platform™. Encryption of system-level data improves the overall security of your system.

For more information, see Configuring the platform cipher and Configuring a keystore for a master key from a custom source.

Case-insensitive filtering in reports

Filtering in reports is now case-insensitive, improving the reporting and searching experience. You can turn off case-insensitive filtering, for example, by using an activity. You might want to do this if your index is too big or if the length of time it takes for indexing impacts performance.

For more information on report filtering, see Editing filter conditions.

All search data is encrypted

All search data in Pega Cloud deployments is now encrypted, both at rest and in transit. The encryption of search data makes search compliant with regulatory requirements.

For more information about search, see Full-text search.