, 2001-12-17
Safety standards and civil liability made automobiles safe. It can work for software too.
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Save the Net, Sue a Software Maker
2001-12-17
Sean, bremerton Wa (4 replies)
Sean, bremerton Wa (4 replies)
Save the Net, Sue a Software Maker
2002-01-12
An old codger that used to be proud of his profession.
An old codger that used to be proud of his profession.
Save the Net, Sue a Software Maker
2001-12-18
Robert A. Matern (3 replies)
Robert A. Matern (3 replies)
Save the Net, Sue a columnist
2001-12-19
Anonymous (1 replies)
Anonymous (1 replies)

So, what is a mother to do?
We (programmers, developers, users, etc), are all walking the same dangerous path (at least until a secure OS and a secure progamming language is developed). Below read about Security-enhanced linux and Cyclone, two solutions that are still years away from being ready. Anything that can be done to get these done faster would help us all!
About SELinux Read:
http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/index.html
"existing mainstream operating systems lack the critical security feature required for enforcing separation: mandatory access control. As a consequence, application security mechanisms are vulnerable to tampering and bypass, and malicious or flawed applications can easily cause failures in system security".
About Cyclone C read:
http://www.research.att.com/projects/cyclone/
"Cyclone is a programming language based on C that is safe, meaning that it rules out programs that have buffer overflows, dangling pointers, format string attacks, and so on. High-level, type-safe languages, such as Java, Scheme, or ML also provide safety, but they don't give the same control over data representations and memory management that C does (witness the fact that the run-time systems for these languages are usually written in C.)"...
http://www.securityfocus.com/guest/9094
"In this article, security expert John Viega, CTO of Secure Software Solutions and author of Building Secure Software, takes a look at Cyclone, the new "secure C dialect". He determines that it is an interesting language with a lot of promise, but is not ready for prime time".
Also remember to read:
http://www.salon.com/tech/review/2000/08/31/schneier/
Ain't no network strong enough
Master cryptographer Bruce Schneier's "Secrets and Lies" explains why computer security is an oxymoron.
By Brendan I. Koerner
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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/47/9418#9418