RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk

["Al Sutton" <asutton () argosytelcrest com>]

Craig,

Nobody's perfect, but other forms of engineering fair far better than
software development. If you looked at the first 5 years of the software I'd
expect that you'll see a figure far greater than 2.7% becoming vulnerable or
failing because of a fundamental problem. From personal experience I've had
to apply patches to at least 70 % of the software packages installed on our
internal systems within five years of their release due to either security
issues or potentially fatal bugs from issues which are well known (such as
buffer overflows, SQL injection, poor handling of low storage space, poor
handling of loss of power to the system, etc.). 

Firewalls are routinely deployed partly because of a general lack of
confidence in the ability of existing software to safely handle anything
that can be thrown at it. If the same view was held of building you'd see
everyone living in big domes with concrete floors which have foundations
streaching tens or hundreds of meters into the ground to strictly control
the environment in which the house exists.

It's interesting you mention the Hatfield Rail Crash, the cause of that was
a cracked rail which was not delt with due to a poor maintainence and
monitoring plan (see sidebar at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/17/newsid_2491000/2
491425.stm). While software does not develop faults over time in the same
way, a poor maintainence and monitoring plan combined with poorly written
software will leave systems outdated and potentially vulnerable to "script
kiddies" who've just downloaded the latest exploit. If software had a higher
level of quality monitoring would be far less important, and patch
management would be far less of an issue, but as a many recent surverys have
shown one of the biggest headaches for IT deparments at the moment is
testing and deploying all of the patches for all of the software they run.

The original point I was trying to make is that the IT community should look
to take a harder stance on developers who allow shoddy code to be released,
and not stop developing software just because it looks tricky. This is
inline with the views of people commisioning buildings and the archiects who
designed the buildings which failed under normal load (such as the gerrards
cross rail bridge, paris airport, etc.), after all would you want to hire
someone to build your house where the last house they designed collapsed?

If a developer chooses a library they should use test cases to proove it
operates safely under the conditions they would use it, and the conditions
under which the library can be abused due to their program (i.e. if the
developer isn't checking the length of a copy and destination buffer then
they should check the library doesn't go wrong when the length of the copy
exceeds the destination buffer). Picking the first library that comes up on
google which offers the functionality a developer needs is like choosing the
first plot of land you find on which to build your house, and if architects
and builders did that then I'm sure the 2.7% figure would be a lot higher.

If we can improve the quality of software then hopefully one day architects
will look at IT and go, "Now if we designed things the way the IT guys
design their systems we'd have fewer problems....." ;).

Al.


-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Wright [mailto:cwright () bdosyd com au] 
Sent: 23 February 2006 23:29
To: support () argosytelcrest com; dave kleiman; Darren W Miller
Cc: defendingthenet; security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk



I am sorry - but I can not help responding to the point on architects;

> From Elsevier - "Engineering Failure Analysis", about 2.7% (95% CI) of 
> homes suffer structural damage caused by soil subsidence within the 
> first 5 years that should have been determined and countered in the 
> design. If we look to the expected lifetime of 20 or 25 years for a 
> home... Well things are worse.

Examples based on design failures follow (these are only the catastrophic
failures). Would you like more? I have the references for all the examples
below if you wish to read more than the headlines?

Is more solid proof required?


You have stated that you are a scientist, would you like me to provide an
ANOVA table for the above figures?


Regards,
Craig

PS - I may not always put every piece of data in a post, but I always have
it handy when I am writing the post. I am ALWAYS more than happy to flood
anyone who requests it with the data.

See
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30190/descripti
on#description

Railway tunnel collapses at Gerrards Cross

A 20-metre section of a partially completed railway tunnel at Gerrard Cross
in Buckinghamshire collapsed.


Roof Collapses at Paris Airport

A 120-foot section of a new terminal at the Charles de Gaulle international
airport collapsed killing at least five people, injuring seven and burying
an unknown number of others.


Girder collapse in Colorado

A 40-ton steel girder dropped from a freeway overpass construction site into
morning traffic, crushing one car and killing all three people inside.


Four Construction Workers Died after Crane Collapse in Toledo, Ohio

Three iron workers were killed and five injured Monday afternoon in the
collapse of a crane on a construction site outside of Toledo, Ohio.


Crane Collaped in Stratford Bridge Project, Killing the Crane Operator

A $96-million bridge replacement job in Stratford, Conn., two barge-mounted
cranes collapsed, killing the crane operator.


Moscow Roof Collapse Kills 21, Hurts 106

The snow-covered glass roof of a Moscow water park collapsed Saturday
evening onto hundreds of people, killing at least 21 people


A Partially Finished Bridge Collapsed in California, USA

An approximately 100-foot section of a partially finished bridge collapsed,
killing one worker and injuring seven others.


A Casino Garage in New Jersey, USA, Collapsed

The top five stories of a parking garage under construction at a casino
collapsed. Three people were killed.


Flooded Subway Project Causes Subsidence in Shanghai, China

An underwater tunnel connected with Shanghai's planned fourth subway line
has collapsed, causing several buildings to tilt and subside.


Rhode Island Nightclub Fire

A pyrotechnics display ignited the stage of a Rhode Island nightclub, which
caused the blaze to spread throughout the building. At least 98 people were
killed and 160 injured.


South Korean Subway Fire

A formal mental patient set fire to the packed subway train in Daegu, South
Korean, killing up to 200 people.


Chicago Club Fire

At least 21 people were killed at the Club when they panicked and tried to
escape a fight.


Building Collapsed in San Antonio

A five-story building collapsed in downtown San Antonio, 3 people injured.


A Schoolhouse Collapsed in An Earthquake in Italy

26 children were buried in the collapsed house while most of nearby
buildings stand.


N.Y. pedestrian bridge collapse

A pedestrian bridge under construction collapsed as concrete was being
poured onto its steel girders, killing one worker and injuring 10 others.


Panels and roofing metal collapsed in Western Australia

A concrete "tilt-up" slab at a Western Australia construction site crushed,
killing a construction worker.


Miami bridge-tower collapses

The control tower on the Flagler Street bridge in Miami collapsed, injuring
a woman.


A Dam in Northern Syria Collapses

A dam in northern Syria collapsed, killing at least two people.


Apartment building in St. Petersburg collapses

A nine-story apartment building in St. Petersburg collapses, killing three
people.


Russian Cosmodrome Roof Collapses

Part of the roof of Russia's space launch complex in Kazakhstan has
collapsed, injuring at least eight people.


Beirut Building Collapse Kills Four

A seven-story building collapsed into a pile of rubble Saturday, killing
four people and crushing cars.


Falling Scaffolding in Chicago Killed Three People

Scaffolding from the 43rd floor of John Hancock Building fell to the
downtown street, killing three people.


Convention Center Girders Collapses in Pittsburgh

Steel girders collapsed at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center under
construction, killing a Moon ironworker and injuring two others.


Scaffolding Collapsed at A Manhattan Office Building

Five construction workers were killed and 10 others were injured when a
scaffolding collapsed at a Manhattan office building.


Wedding Hall Collapses in Jerusalem

An over-crowded wedding reception hall collapsed Thursday night in
Jerusalem, killing at least 25 people and injuring 250.


Steelwork Collapses at Convention Center Site

Part of the new D.C. convention center collapsed.


A Bridge Collapse in Portugal Kills up to 70 People

A 116-year-old bridge in Portugal collapsed. One of support pillars gave way
under pressure from river water.


Selby rail disaster

Caused by a piece of metal from a Land Rover which had plunged onto the
track falling onto the line, the accicident killed 13 people, injured a
hundred.


Dulles Airport Tunnel Collapse

Part of a pedestrian tunnel under construction at Dulles International
Airport caved in trapping a worker in the rubble.


Construction Trench Collapsed in Texas, USA

A construction trench collapsed, killing three workers who were buried in 14
feet of dirt.


Hatfield Rail Crash

A high-speed train crash north of London that killed four people and injured
34 put the safety of Britain's railways in question on Wednesday.


Kansai International Airport

Six years after its completion, Japan's second-largest airport is sinking
into the ocean much faster than expected.


High School Gym in Cleveland, USA

The roof of a Cleveland, Ohio, high school gym collapsed, injuring three
students and two adults.


Building Collapse in India

Twenty-three people are reported to be killed in building collapse in
Tundla, India.


Moscow's Giant TV Tower Collapse

Completed in 1967, the Europe's Telecommunications towe's exposed
prestressing cables inside are vulnerable to blaze.


SW China Bridge Collapse

A newly built pontoon bridge collapsed in Luzhou, a city in Southwest
China's Sichuan Province, killing at least two people.


Wall Collapse on Construction Site, Maryland, USA

Two people were killed and three others were hurt when an eight inch thick
cinder-block wall collapsed at a construction site in suburban Baltimore.


Winery Terrace Collapse in Ohio, USA

A terrace loaded with tourists collapsed at an island winery in Lake Erie,
Ohio, USA


Overpass Collapse Shuts down Quebec Highway

A huge concrete beam fell on the vehicle as it was passing under the
viaduct.


Millennium Bridge Sways

This newly completed bridge in London had to be closed because it swayed.


Speedway Bridge at North Carolina, USA

A concrete pedestrian walkway spanning a four-lane highway in front of the
speedway collapsed, injuring more than 100 people.









-----Original Message-----
From: Al Sutton [mailto:asutton () argosytelcrest com]

Sent: 24 February 2006 8:33
To: Craig Wright; 'dave kleiman'; 'Darren W Miller'
Cc: 'defendingthenet'
Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk

Hi,

I too am very open to being proven wrong, but as a scientist I need solid
proof which involves cold hard facts, not statements such as "I can't go
into all the details for various reasons.".

I've been involved in many development projects, and at the end of the day a
product ships with bugs from a library then it's the developer who is
responsible for their choice of libraries.  The attitudes Darren describes
are typical in Development, the "If it ain't in my code it ain't my problem"
is one of the most fundamental problems of current development mentality.
How many architects do you know that would design for the side of a hill
without making sure the hill could support their design?, or design an
extension to a house without ensuring the house was sound?, the same is true
of code, if you're writing software you need to make sure your libraries
support it securely, if not, then you're not doing your job. Developers can
add verification code before they send code to libraries, and if they have
concerns of a library this is what they should be doing (after all why
rewrite a string copy routine when you just need to check that the length of
your copy is less than the length of your destination buffer?).

My view is that the original paper was FUD, intended or not, that's how it
appeared, that's how it read, and it it walks like a chicked and clucks like
a chicken people are going to call it a chicken.

Al.


-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Wright [mailto:cwright () bdosyd com au]
Sent: 23 February 2006 21:10
To: dave kleiman; Darren W Miller
Cc: Al Sutton; defendingthenet
Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk



Hello,

Dave stated; "Craig.. And be gentle Craig will pick apart opinions and bring
back factual information without batting an eye."

True and I am always open to being proved wrong. The thing is that I have to
be PROVED Wrong. Opinion and anecdotal evidence is not proof. Validated
points and correctly collected statistical data are.

As much as many people find this difficult to believe (even my wife) I enjoy
being proved wrong. It is both a learning  opportunity for my self and a
demonstration that others are engaging in serious peer review processes
outside of academe.

In the past 20 years I have performed close to 5,000 engagements. At the
moment I am conducting one of the largest vulnerability and risk assessments
ever conducted in Australia in association with the Attorney Generals CNVA
programme.

The first issue to address is yes you found a vulnerability and it was
exploitable. What is the risk? The impact threat vectors and other analysis
factors need to be considered. Vulnerabilities do not matter by themselves.
They create a risk potential. When you understand this you will both serve
your clients more effectively and also add value in a manner they will
understand. You need to sell to management. They understand finance and
risk. Vulnerabilities are FUD. They do not help.

As for engineering something not to fail. This is where I have an issue with
people who think they are engineers. Engineering is the process of building
something to a set specification. An example is giving a 95% Confidence
Internal of a 5 year expected life. It involves the analysis and design of
hazard functions and survival processes.

Regards,
Craig

PS this is about as nice as I get unless people actually seek to open their
minds and learn.


-----Original Message-----
From: dave kleiman [mailto:dave () davekleiman com]

Sent: 23 February 2006 4:25
To: 'Darren W Miller'
Cc: Craig Wright; 'Al Sutton'; 'defendingthenet'
Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk

Darren,

I am going to explain this to you, since you are new here on this forum, or
at least I have only saw one or two of your posts go by recently. I am not
the form moderator, nor do I have any influence over the posts that make the
forum.

First, I wanted to give you a friendly heads-up, because you are throwing
"articles" out to this forum and they are your opinion.

Secondly, I am a nice guy :), maybe you are taking this personally, but you
need to read through the archives, this s what we do here debate!!


"""I don't have the time to keep this discussion (if that I what we are
actually having) going for an infinite amount of time""" You posted this to
a Security Discussion board, that is what we do here.

Do not get me wrong you have the right to post almost anything you want
pertaining to security, but if throw your opinion out here, expect to have
to defend it, and back it by fact. Because it is going to get torn up by the
professionals.

I have seen threads, that is what you started a thread, go for 20-30 days.
See "Forensic/Cyber Crime Investigator" in the archives, it went from
mid-Jan until Feb 15th, and I thought Craig was going to kill me on that
one, but that is how this forum goes, you make a statement expect educated
well-informed/experienced responses, a lot of them you will not agree with,
but will not be able to tap dance away from.

Craig.. And be gentle Craig will pick apart opinions and bring back factual
information without batting an eye. He and I have gone toe-to-toe on many a
subject on this and other discussion forms.

Darren, I know you are used to posting articles at CastleCops were the home
user is the basic audience and nobody is retorting, but when you step into
this arena you will see some serious professionals in varying fields and
they will not let misinformation slide. You of course do not have to respond
to the responses, but expect even heavier discussion when you post and
disappear.

By the way if you were to post this at a higher level forum such as
pen-test, they would eat your below write-up for breakfast. But since you
left it off post, I did the same....however I know Craig loves pen-testing
so he may not.




Dave



     -----Original Message-----
     From: Darren W Miller [mailto:Darren.Miller () paralogic net]

     Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 20:06
     To: Craig Wright; dave kleiman
     Cc: Darren W Miller
     Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk
   


     Gentlemen,
   


     I don't have the time to keep this discussion (if that I

     what we are actually having) going for an infinite amount

     of time. But let me give you a couple high-level examples

     of what I am talking about here. The key word is

     high-level, I can't go into all the details for various reasons.
   


     In the last 3 months I have performed 5 assessments. Phase

     I of these assessments involved penetration testing of

     external public facing systems. Out of the 5, we achieved

     total systems penetration / compromise of 4. All 4 of

     these systems were web based services. All 4 of these

     systems were compromised by exploiting "custom" code or

     modules. During post-assessment meetings the developers

     (who were independents) were present. When they were shown

     what modules were used to achieve the compromise everyone

     one them blamed it on other external modules they used (or

     re-usable code / modules,) and that they had no idea these

     bugs existed. They further explained that some of the

     source code, at least the ones they had access to, were so

     extensive and complex that they probably would never had

     found the bugs. One gentleman even stated that it was not

     up to him to make sure code developed by others is secure

     even if he is using that code. That did not go over well

     in the meeting, trust me
   


     AS far as "engineering something not to fail", I don't

     even think that is possible at this point in time. Or ever

     will be. Quite frankly, if someone were to tell me that a

     particular system, any system, was fail-proof, I'd say

     that they were off the wall. Let me just include a couple

     bullet point items that may fall into this category of

     "complex systems" and security:
   


     1) Compromise of internal network systems using citrix as

     an entry point. End users thought that the citrix remote

     desktop profiles were secure because of how they were

     setup but never realized that flaws in something as simple

     (or complex) as ms-word would allow an isolated compromise

     to lead to additional systems compromise.
     2) System A interacts with System B which interacts with

     system C. End users are aware, to an extent, about the

     flaws in system A & B and their interaction, but not aware

     of much regarding system C. In fact, they were not even

     aware there was a system C. That interaction with system C

     resulted in a security breach. In this case, complex

     systems interacting with other complex systems, some of

     which were unknowns, leading to security breaches.

     3) IT department decides to increase the over all security

     of authentication methods so increase complexity rules and

     other related items such as aging.... However, they have

     poor auditing measures internally and have know idea that

     there are 150 user accounts for people who no longer work

     for the company. Even though authentication measures /

     procedures have been changed on the system, these

     particular accounts will not have them applied until the

     next time they are used. Several of these accounts are

     compromised because they don't meet even basic complexity

     rules for passwords. However, the end user thought that

     the system would take care of this and force all accounts

     to abide by the same rules immediately. Did not happen.
   


     Here is the bottom line. Either I did a really poor job at

     trying to get my message across in a high-level way, or I

     am just being totally misunderstood. I would suggest it's

     a little of both based on this dialoged.
   


     Note: One final point. I would rather you not make the

     statement that I am using FUD as a selling tool. The fact

     is that is not true and is not my intention. If either of

     you new me personally you would know that. I would never,

     and have never, made that kind of assumption without

     knowing for sure. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I would make

     that kind of statement about anyone, even if I knew for

     sure that is what they were all about.
   


     Regards,
   


     Darren W. Miller
   


     -----Original Message-----
     From: Craig Wright [mailto:cwright () bdosyd com au]
     Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 5:41 PM
     To: dave kleiman; security-basics () securityfocus com
     Cc: Darren W Miller; defendingthenet
     Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk
   


   


     Hello
   


     Here I have to state that I agree 100% and categorically with Dave.
   


     FUD - Fear Uncertainty and Doubt is a common tool used by

     vendors to sell security. It is also one of the greatest

     threats to security today.
   


     It makes people inured to security in the long run (i.e.

     cry wolf) and in the short term results in a lot of

     technical solutions that generally fail to address the issue.
   


     NASA uses hazard and survivability models to determine

     risk. They do not engineer to not fail - they just reduce

     the probability of an incident. What needs to be

     remembered that is that 1 in a million occurrence happens

     all the time in the real world. Even a 1 in a billion

     occurrence will happen daily somewhere in the world.

     Welcome to the world of risk.
   


     So as to the original post, how would complex software

     make you less risk prone?
   


     Regards,
     Craig
   


   


     -----Original Message-----
     From: dave kleiman [mailto:dave () davekleiman com]
   


     Sent: 23 February 2006 2:23
     To: security-basics () securityfocus com
     Cc: Darren.Miller () defendingthenet com; 'defendingthenet'
     Subject: RE: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk
   


     Inline....  


   


   


   


          -----Original Message-----
          From: defendingthenet [mailto:mlapidus () ccim net]
          Sent: 20 February 2006 14:35
          To: security-basics () securityfocus com
          Subject: Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk
       


   


       


   


       


   


          Title
          -----
          Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk
       


   


          Can Easy To Use Software Also Be Secure
          ----------------------------
          Anyone who has been working with computers for a long time
   


          will have noticed
          that mainstream operating systems and applications have
   


          become easier to use
          over the years (supposedly). Tasks that use to be complex
   


          procedures and
          required experienced professional to do can now be done at
   


          the push of a
          button. For instance, setting up an Active Directory
   


          domain in Windows 2000
          or higher can now be done by a wizard leading even the
   


          most novice technical
          person to believe they can "securely" setup the operating
   


          environment.
   


     Where does it claim that it is "securely" setting up AD in

     the wizard?
   


          This
          is actually quite far from the truth. Half the time this
   


          procedure fails
          because DNS does not configure properly or security
   


          permissions are relaxed
          because the end user cannot perform a specific function.
   


     Sounds like you have had this problem a few times, maybe

     you should not use the wizard, or attempt AD setups.
   


     Do you understand how to "securely" setup AD, for your

     comments here, I would say no.
   


     Instead of using the "sky is falling routine" suggest how

     to do these things securely instead of syaing "look how

     terrible this is"
   


   


   


       


   


          If It's Easy To Develop, Is It Also Secure
          --------------------------------------------------
          One of the reasons why operating systems and applications
   


          "appear" to be
          easier to work with then they use to is developers have
   


          created procedures
          and reusable objects to take care of all the complex tasks
   


          for you.
   


      


   


     Are you referring to shared code? In case you do not know

     what that is, it is code that is shared by apps for the

     same routines.
   


   


          For instance, back in the old days when I started as a
   


          developer using assembly
          language and c/c++, I had to write pretty much all the
   


          code myself.
   


   


     Are you suggesting your code was more secure back in the

     "old" days, when security was not a concern in coding?
   


   


          Now everything is visually driven, with millions of lines of
   


          code already
          written for you.  All you have to do is create the
   


          framework for your
          application and the development environment and compiler
   


          adds all the other
          complex stuff for you. Who wrote this other code? How can
   


          you be sure it is
          secure. Basically, you have no idea and there is no easy
   


          way to answer this
          question.


   


       


   


          Secure Environments Don't Exist Well With Complexity
          ----------------------------
          The reality is it may look easier on the surface but the
   


          complexity of the
          backend software can be incredible. And guess what, secure
   


          environments do
          not coexist well with complexity. This is one of the
   


          reasons there are so
          many opportunities for hackers, viruses, and malware

     to attack your
          computers. How many bugs are in the Microsoft Operating
   


          System? I can almost
          guarantee that no one really knows for sure, not even
   


          Microsoft developers.
          However, I can tell you that there are thousands, if not
   


          hundreds of
          thousands of bugs, holes, and security weaknesses in
   


          mainstream systems and
          applications just waiting to be uncovered and maliciously
   


          exploited.
       


   


          How Reliable and Secure are Complex Systems?
          ----------------------------------------------------------
          Let's draw a comparison between the world of software and
   


          security with that
          of the space program. Scientists at NASA have know for
   


          years that the space
          shuttle is one of the most complex systems in the world.
   


          With miles of
          wiring, incredible mechanical functions, millions of lines
   


          of operating
          system and application code, and failsafe systems to
   


          protect failsafe
          systems, and even more failsafe systems to protect other
   


          systems. Systems
          like the space shuttle need to perform consistently, cost
   


          effectively, and
          have high Mean-Time-Between-Failure(MTBF).
   


       


   


          *All in all the space shuttle has a good record.*
   


   


   


          One thing
   


          it is not though
          is cost effective and consistent. Every time there is a
   


          launch different
          issues crop up that cause delays. In a few circumstances,
   


          even the most
          basic components of this complex system, like "O" rings,
   


          have sadly resulted
          in a fatal outcome. Why are things like this missed? Are
   


          they just not on
          the radar screen because all the other complexities of the
   


          system demand so
          much attention? There are million different variables I'm
   


          sure. The fact is,
          NASA scientists know they need to work on developing less
   


          complex systems to
          achieve their objectives.
   


      


   


   


     Ok now you have stepped out of bounds, first of all I love

     NASA and have the utmost respect for them and all the

     astronauts who have braved the frontier.
     However, the record of the shuttle is 110+ scrubbed

     launches. That is more than the number of launches. You

     can do the math for the rest, but it does not add up to a

     good record, you might have to use one of those "complex

     systems" though to run calc.
   


   


     So your saying a more simplistic system would create a

     better record, maybe they should try fly the Kitty Hawk to

     the moon.
   


   


     I am just going to stop here and say Hogwash.
   


     My advice to you is stop selling fear and your opinion,

     and start selling solutions to problems. Next time tell us

     how to fix your proposed problems.
   


   


   


   


   


     Respectfully,
   


     ______________________________________________________
     Dave Kleiman, CAS,CCE,CIFI,CISM,CISSP,ISSAP,ISSMP,MCSE
   


     www.SecurityBreachResponse.com
      
   


   


   


   


   


          This same principal of reducing complexity to

     increase security,
          performance, and decrease failures really does apply to
   


          the world of
          computers and networking. Ever time I here associates of
   


          mine talk about
          incredibly complex systems they design for clients and how
   


          hard they were to
          implement I cringe. How in the world are people suppose to
   


          cost effectively
          and reliably manage such things. In some cases it's almost
   


          impossible. Just
          ask any organization how many versions or different brands
   


          of intrusion
          detection systems they have been through. As them how many
   


          times the have
          had infections by virus and malware because of poorly
   


          developed software or
          applications. Or, if they have ever had a breach in
   


          security because the
          developer of a specific system was driven by ease of use
   


          and inadvertently
          put in place a piece of helpful code that was also helpful
   


          to a hacker.
       


   


          Can I Write A Document Without A Potential Security

     Problem Please
          -----------------------------------------------
          Just a few days ago I was thinking about something as
   


          simple as Microsoft
          Word. I use MS-Word all the time, every day in fact. Do
   


          you know how
          powerful this application really is? Microsoft Word can do
   


          all kinds of
          complex tasks like math, algorithms, graphing, trend
   


          analysis, crazy font
          and graphic effects, link to external data including
   


          databases, and execute
          web based functions.
   


       


   


          Do you know what I use it for, to write documents. nothing
   


          crazy or complex,
          at least most of the time. Wouldn't it be interesting that
   


          when you first
          installed or configured Microsoft Word, there was an
   


          option for installing
          only a bare bones version of the core product. I mean,
   


          really stripped down
          so there was not much to it. You can do this to a degree,
   


          but all the shared
          application components are still there. Almost every
   


          computer I have
          compromised during security assessments has had MS-Word
   


          installed on it. I
          can't tell you how many times I have used this
   


          applications ability to do
          all kinds of complex tasks to compromise the system and
   


          other systems
          further. We'll leave the details of this for another
   


          article though.
       


   


          Conclusion
          ----------
          Here's the bottom line. The more complex systems get,
   


          typically in the name
          of ease of use for end users, the more opportunity for
   


          failure, compromise,
          and infection increases. There are ways of making things
   


          easy to use,
          perform well, and provide a wide variety of function and
   


          still decrease
          complexity and maintain security. It just takes a little
   


          longer to develop
          and more thought of security. You might think that a large
   


          part of the blame
          for complex insecure software should fall on the

     shoulders of the
          developers. But the reality is it is us, the end users and
   


          consumers that
          are partially to blame. We want software that is bigger,
   


          faster, can do just
          about everything, and we want it fast. We don't have time
   


          to wait for it to
          be developed in a secure manner, do we?
   


       


   


          You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as
   


          long as the
          bylines are included.

   


       


   


          Original URL (The Web version of the article)
          ------------
          http://www.defendingthenet.com/NewsLetters/WhyEasyToUseSoft
          wareIsPuttingYouA
          tRisk.htm
       


   


          About The Author
          ----------------
          Darren Miller is an Information Security Consultant with
   


          over seventeen
          years experience. He has written many technology &
   


          security articles, some
          of which have been published in nationally circulated

     magazines &
          periodicals.  If you would like to contact Darren you can
   


          e-mail him at
          Darren.Miller () defendingthenet com. If you would like to
   


          know more about
          computer security please visit us at
   


          http://www.defendingthenet.com.
       


   


      


   


   


   


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EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE
The Norwich University program offers unparalleled Infosec management
education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience.
Tailor your education to your own professional goals with degree
customizations including Emergency Management, Business Continuity Planning,
Computer Emergency Response Teams, and Digital Investigations.

http://www.msia.norwich.edu/secfocus
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