diff --git a/modules/@angular/http/http.ts b/modules/@angular/http/http.ts
index 75b1c6835f..2bdccec1bc 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/http/http.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/http/http.ts
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@
  */
 import {provide} from '@angular/core';
 import {Http, Jsonp} from './src/http';
-import {XHRBackend, XHRConnection} from './src/backends/xhr_backend';
+import {XHRBackend, XHRConnection, CookieXSRFStrategy} from './src/backends/xhr_backend';
 import {JSONPBackend, JSONPBackend_, JSONPConnection} from './src/backends/jsonp_backend';
 import {BrowserXhr} from './src/backends/browser_xhr';
 import {BrowserJsonp} from './src/backends/browser_jsonp';
 import {BaseRequestOptions, RequestOptions} from './src/base_request_options';
-import {ConnectionBackend} from './src/interfaces';
+import {ConnectionBackend, XSRFStrategy} from './src/interfaces';
 import {BaseResponseOptions, ResponseOptions} from './src/base_response_options';
 export {Request} from './src/static_request';
 export {Response} from './src/static_response';
@@ -20,13 +20,14 @@ export {
   RequestOptionsArgs,
   ResponseOptionsArgs,
   Connection,
-  ConnectionBackend
+  ConnectionBackend,
+  XSRFStrategy
 } from './src/interfaces';
 
 export {BrowserXhr} from './src/backends/browser_xhr';
 export {BaseRequestOptions, RequestOptions} from './src/base_request_options';
 export {BaseResponseOptions, ResponseOptions} from './src/base_response_options';
-export {XHRBackend, XHRConnection} from './src/backends/xhr_backend';
+export {XHRBackend, XHRConnection, CookieXSRFStrategy} from './src/backends/xhr_backend';
 export {JSONPBackend, JSONPConnection} from './src/backends/jsonp_backend';
 export {Http, Jsonp} from './src/http';
 
@@ -88,6 +89,7 @@ export {URLSearchParams} from './src/url_search_params';
  * The providers included in `HTTP_PROVIDERS` include:
  *  * {@link Http}
  *  * {@link XHRBackend}
+ *  * {@link XSRFStrategy} - Bound to {@link CookieXSRFStrategy} class (see below)
  *  * `BrowserXHR` - Private factory to create `XMLHttpRequest` instances
  *  * {@link RequestOptions} - Bound to {@link BaseRequestOptions} class
  *  * {@link ResponseOptions} - Bound to {@link BaseResponseOptions} class
@@ -151,6 +153,31 @@ export {URLSearchParams} from './src/url_search_params';
  *   }
  * });
  * ```
+ *
+ * `XSRFStrategy` allows customizing how the application protects itself against Cross Site Request
+ * Forgery (XSRF) attacks. By default, Angular will look for a cookie called `'XSRF-TOKEN'`, and set
+ * an HTTP request header called `'X-XSRF-TOKEN'` with the value of the cookie on each request,
+ * allowing the server side to validate that the request comes from its own front end.
+ *
+ * Applications can override the names used by configuring a different `XSRFStrategy` instance. Most
+ * commonly, applications will configure a `CookieXSRFStrategy` with different cookie or header
+ * names, but if needed, they can supply a completely custom implementation.
+ *
+ * See the security documentation for more information.
+ *
+ * ### Example
+ *
+ * ```
+ * import {provide} from '@angular/core';
+ * import {bootstrap} from '@angular/platform-browser/browser';
+ * import {HTTP_PROVIDERS, XSRFStrategy, CookieXSRFStrategy} from '@angular/http';
+ *
+ * bootstrap(
+ *     App,
+ *     [HTTP_PROVIDERS, provide(XSRFStrategy,
+ *         {useValue: new CookieXSRFStrategy('MY-XSRF-COOKIE-NAME', 'X-MY-XSRF-HEADER-NAME')})])
+ *   .catch(err => console.error(err));
+ * ```
  */
 export const HTTP_PROVIDERS: any[] = [
   // TODO(pascal): use factory type annotations once supported in DI
@@ -164,7 +191,8 @@ export const HTTP_PROVIDERS: any[] = [
   BrowserXhr,
   provide(RequestOptions, {useClass: BaseRequestOptions}),
   provide(ResponseOptions, {useClass: BaseResponseOptions}),
-  XHRBackend
+  XHRBackend,
+  provide(XSRFStrategy, {useValue: new CookieXSRFStrategy()}),
 ];
 
 /**
diff --git a/modules/@angular/http/src/backends/xhr_backend.ts b/modules/@angular/http/src/backends/xhr_backend.ts
index 8a997f51a7..d4c58e0d6b 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/http/src/backends/xhr_backend.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/http/src/backends/xhr_backend.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import {ConnectionBackend, Connection} from '../interfaces';
+import {getDOM} from '@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter';
+
+import {ConnectionBackend, Connection, XSRFStrategy} from '../interfaces';
 import {ReadyState, RequestMethod, ResponseType, ContentType} from '../enums';
 import {Request} from '../static_request';
 import {Response} from '../static_response';
@@ -134,6 +136,27 @@ export class XHRConnection implements Connection {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * `XSRFConfiguration` sets up Cross Site Request Forgery (XSRF) protection for the application
+ * using a cookie. See https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Cross-Site_Request_Forgery_(CSRF) for more
+ * information on XSRF.
+ *
+ * Applications can configure custom cookie and header names by binding an instance of this class
+ * with different `cookieName` and `headerName` values. See the main HTTP documentation for more
+ * details.
+ */
+export class CookieXSRFStrategy implements XSRFStrategy {
+  constructor(
+      private _cookieName: string = 'XSRF-TOKEN', private _headerName: string = 'X-XSRF-TOKEN') {}
+
+  configureRequest(req: Request) {
+    let xsrfToken = getDOM().getCookie(this._cookieName);
+    if (xsrfToken && !req.headers.has(this._headerName)) {
+      req.headers.set(this._headerName, xsrfToken);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Creates {@link XHRConnection} instances.
  *
@@ -158,12 +181,15 @@ export class XHRConnection implements Connection {
  *   }
  * }
  * ```
- *
  **/
 @Injectable()
 export class XHRBackend implements ConnectionBackend {
-  constructor(private _browserXHR: BrowserXhr, private _baseResponseOptions: ResponseOptions) {}
+  constructor(
+      private _browserXHR: BrowserXhr, private _baseResponseOptions: ResponseOptions,
+      private _xsrfStrategy: XSRFStrategy) {}
+
   createConnection(request: Request): XHRConnection {
+    this._xsrfStrategy.configureRequest(request);
     return new XHRConnection(request, this._browserXHR, this._baseResponseOptions);
   }
 }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/http/src/interfaces.ts b/modules/@angular/http/src/interfaces.ts
index f11761a5bc..10337df73c 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/http/src/interfaces.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/http/src/interfaces.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,11 @@ export abstract class Connection {
   response: any;  // TODO: generic of <Response>;
 }
 
+/** An XSRFStrategy configures XSRF protection (e.g. via headers) on an HTTP request. */
+export abstract class XSRFStrategy {
+  abstract configureRequest(req: Request): void;
+}
+
 /**
  * Interface for options to construct a RequestOptions, based on
  * [RequestInit](https://fetch.spec.whatwg.org/#requestinit) from the Fetch spec.
diff --git a/modules/@angular/http/test/backends/xhr_backend_spec.ts b/modules/@angular/http/test/backends/xhr_backend_spec.ts
index 3be5576474..301b488d80 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/http/test/backends/xhr_backend_spec.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/http/test/backends/xhr_backend_spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import {
   afterEach,
   beforeEach,
+  beforeEachProviders,
   ddescribe,
   describe,
   expect,
@@ -11,8 +12,10 @@ import {
 } from '@angular/core/testing/testing_internal';
 import {AsyncTestCompleter, SpyObject} from '@angular/core/testing/testing_internal';
 import {BrowserXhr} from '../../src/backends/browser_xhr';
-import {XHRConnection, XHRBackend} from '../../src/backends/xhr_backend';
-import {provide, Injector, ReflectiveInjector} from '@angular/core';
+import {XSRFStrategy} from '../../src/interfaces';
+import {XHRConnection, XHRBackend, CookieXSRFStrategy} from '../../src/backends/xhr_backend';
+import {provide, Injector, Injectable, ReflectiveInjector} from '@angular/core';
+import {getDOM} from '@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter';
 import {Request} from '../../src/static_request';
 import {Response} from '../../src/static_response';
 import {Headers} from '../../src/headers';
@@ -89,22 +92,59 @@ export function main() {
     var backend: XHRBackend;
     var sampleRequest: Request;
 
-    beforeEach(() => {
-      var injector = ReflectiveInjector.resolveAndCreate([
-        provide(ResponseOptions, {useClass: BaseResponseOptions}),
-        provide(BrowserXhr, {useClass: MockBrowserXHR}),
-        XHRBackend
-      ]);
-      backend = injector.get(XHRBackend);
-      var base = new BaseRequestOptions();
+    beforeEachProviders(
+        () =>
+            [provide(ResponseOptions, {useClass: BaseResponseOptions}),
+             provide(BrowserXhr, {useClass: MockBrowserXHR}), XHRBackend,
+             provide(XSRFStrategy, {useValue: new CookieXSRFStrategy()}),
+    ]);
+
+    beforeEach(inject([XHRBackend], (be: XHRBackend) => {
+      backend = be;
+      let base = new BaseRequestOptions();
       sampleRequest = new Request(base.merge(new RequestOptions({url: 'https://google.com'})));
-    });
+    }));
 
     afterEach(() => { existingXHRs = []; });
 
-    it('should create a connection',
-       () => { expect(() => backend.createConnection(sampleRequest)).not.toThrow(); });
+    describe('creating a connection', () => {
+      @Injectable()
+      class NoopXsrfStrategy implements XSRFStrategy {
+        configureRequest(req: Request) {}
+      }
+      beforeEachProviders(() => [provide(XSRFStrategy, {useClass: NoopXsrfStrategy})]);
 
+      it('succeeds',
+         () => { expect(() => backend.createConnection(sampleRequest)).not.toThrow(); });
+    });
+
+    if (getDOM().supportsCookies()) {
+      describe('XSRF support', () => {
+        it('sets an XSRF header by default', () => {
+          getDOM().setCookie('XSRF-TOKEN', 'magic XSRF value');
+          backend.createConnection(sampleRequest);
+          expect(sampleRequest.headers.get('X-XSRF-TOKEN')).toBe('magic XSRF value');
+        });
+        it('respects existing headers', () => {
+          getDOM().setCookie('XSRF-TOKEN', 'magic XSRF value');
+          sampleRequest.headers.set('X-XSRF-TOKEN', 'already set');
+          backend.createConnection(sampleRequest);
+          expect(sampleRequest.headers.get('X-XSRF-TOKEN')).toBe('already set');
+        });
+
+        describe('configuration', () => {
+          beforeEachProviders(
+              () => [provide(
+                  XSRFStrategy, {useValue: new CookieXSRFStrategy('my cookie', 'X-MY-HEADER')})]);
+
+          it('uses the configured names', () => {
+            getDOM().setCookie('my cookie', 'XSRF value');
+            backend.createConnection(sampleRequest);
+            expect(sampleRequest.headers.get('X-MY-HEADER')).toBe('XSRF value');
+          });
+        })
+      });
+    }
 
     describe('XHRConnection', () => {
       it('should use the injected BaseResponseOptions to create the response',
diff --git a/modules/@angular/integration_test/public_api_spec.ts b/modules/@angular/integration_test/public_api_spec.ts
index 7e40a46e53..be89420ef9 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/integration_test/public_api_spec.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/integration_test/public_api_spec.ts
@@ -442,6 +442,7 @@ var HTTP: string[] = [
   'BrowserXhr',
   'Connection',
   'ConnectionBackend',
+  'CookieXSRFStrategy',
   'HTTP_BINDINGS',
   'HTTP_PROVIDERS',
   'Headers',
@@ -460,7 +461,8 @@ var HTTP: string[] = [
   'ResponseType',
   'URLSearchParams',
   'XHRBackend',
-  'XHRConnection'
+  'XHRConnection',
+  'XSRFStrategy',
 ];
 
 var HTTP_TESTING: string[] = ['MockBackend', 'MockConnection'];
diff --git a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/browser/browser_adapter.ts b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/browser/browser_adapter.ts
index e496d43592..4848784bd1 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/browser/browser_adapter.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/browser/browser_adapter.ts
@@ -350,6 +350,18 @@ export class BrowserDomAdapter extends GenericBrowserDomAdapter {
       return DateWrapper.toMillis(DateWrapper.now());
     }
   }
+
+  supportsCookies(): boolean { return true; }
+
+  getCookie(name: string): string {
+    return parseCookieValue(document.cookie, name);
+  }
+
+  setCookie(name: string, value: string) {
+    // document.cookie is magical, assigning into it assigns/overrides one cookie value, but does
+    // not clear other cookies.
+    document.cookie = encodeURIComponent(name) + '=' + encodeURIComponent(value);
+  }
 }
 
 
@@ -374,3 +386,15 @@ function relativePath(url): string {
   return (urlParsingNode.pathname.charAt(0) === '/') ? urlParsingNode.pathname :
                                                        '/' + urlParsingNode.pathname;
 }
+
+export function parseCookieValue(cookie: string, name: string): string {
+  name = encodeURIComponent(name);
+  let cookies = cookie.split(';');
+  for (let cookie of cookies) {
+    let [key, value] = cookie.split('=', 2);
+    if (key.trim() === name) {
+      return decodeURIComponent(value);
+    }
+  }
+  return null;
+}
diff --git a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter.ts b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter.ts
index a3afe14cfd..7b15cbfc47 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter.ts
@@ -152,4 +152,8 @@ export abstract class DomAdapter {
   abstract getAnimationPrefix(): string;
   abstract getTransitionEnd(): string;
   abstract supportsAnimation(): boolean;
+
+  abstract supportsCookies(): boolean;
+  abstract getCookie(name: string): string;
+  abstract setCookie(name: string, value: string);
 }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/web_workers/worker/worker_adapter.ts b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/web_workers/worker/worker_adapter.ts
index 713e2c802e..f0d474e84a 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/web_workers/worker/worker_adapter.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/src/web_workers/worker/worker_adapter.ts
@@ -153,4 +153,8 @@ export class WorkerDomAdapter extends DomAdapter {
   getTransitionEnd(): string { throw "not implemented"; }
   supportsAnimation(): boolean { throw "not implemented"; }
   supportsWebAnimation(): boolean { throw "not implemented"; }
+
+  supportsCookies(): boolean { return false; }
+  getCookie(name: string): string { throw "not implemented"; }
+  setCookie(name: string, value: string) { throw "not implemented"; }
 }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/platform-browser/test/browser/browser_adapter_spec.ts b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/test/browser/browser_adapter_spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8fa940462d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/@angular/platform-browser/test/browser/browser_adapter_spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import {
+  beforeEach,
+  afterEach,
+  describe,
+  ddescribe,
+  expect,
+  inject,
+  it,
+  iit,
+  AsyncTestCompleter
+} from "@angular/core/testing/testing_internal";
+import {getDOM} from '@angular/platform-browser/src/dom/dom_adapter';
+
+import {parseCookieValue} from "../../src/browser/browser_adapter";
+
+export function main() {
+  describe('cookies', () => {
+    it('parses cookies', () => {
+      let cookie = 'other-cookie=false; xsrf-token=token-value; is_awesome=true; ffo=true;';
+      expect(parseCookieValue(cookie, 'xsrf-token')).toBe('token-value');
+    });
+    it('handles encoded keys', () => {
+      expect(parseCookieValue('whitespace%20token=token-value', 'whitespace token'))
+          .toBe('token-value');
+    });
+    it('handles encoded values', () => {
+      expect(parseCookieValue('token=whitespace%20', 'token')).toBe('whitespace ');
+      expect(parseCookieValue('token=whitespace%0A', 'token')).toBe('whitespace\n');
+    });
+    it('sets cookie values', () => {
+      getDOM().setCookie('my test cookie', 'my test value');
+      getDOM().setCookie('my other cookie', 'my test value 2');
+      expect(getDOM().getCookie('my test cookie')).toBe('my test value');
+    });
+  });
+}
diff --git a/modules/@angular/platform-server/src/parse5_adapter.ts b/modules/@angular/platform-server/src/parse5_adapter.ts
index 04e61cde4f..44e2d5915c 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/platform-server/src/parse5_adapter.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/platform-server/src/parse5_adapter.ts
@@ -563,6 +563,10 @@ export class Parse5DomAdapter extends DomAdapter {
   parse(templateHtml: string) { throw new Error('not implemented'); }
   invoke(el: Element, methodName: string, args: any[]): any { throw new Error('not implemented'); }
   getEventKey(event): string { throw new Error('not implemented'); }
+
+  supportsCookies(): boolean { return false; }
+  getCookie(name: string): string { throw new Error('not implemented'); }
+  setCookie(name: string, value: string) { throw new Error('not implemented'); }
 }
 
 // TODO: build a proper list, this one is all the keys of a HTMLInputElement