Building Secure Software: How to Avoid Security Problems the Right Way - Hardcover

Viega, John; McGraw, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 020172152X ISBN 13: 9780201721522

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional, 2001

Synopsis

Most organizations have a firewall, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems, all of which are intended to keep attackers out. So why is computer security a bigger problem today than ever before? The answer is simple--bad software lies at the heart of all computer security problems. Traditional solutions simply treat the symptoms, not the problem, and usually do so in a reactive way. This book teaches you how to take a proactive approach to computer security.

Building Secure Software cuts to the heart of computer security to help you get security right the first time. If you are serious about computer security, you need to read this book, which includes essential lessons for both security professionals who have come to realize that software is the problem, and software developers who intend to make their code behave. Written for anyone involved in software development and use—from managers to coders—this book is your first step toward building more secure software. Building Secure Software provides expert perspectives and techniques to help you ensure the security of essential software. If you consider threats and vulnerabilities early in the devel-opment cycle you can build security into your system. With this book you will learn how to determine an acceptable level of risk, develop security tests, and plug security holes before software is even shipped.

Inside you'll find the ten guiding principles for software security, as well as detailed coverage of:

• Software risk management for security
• Selecting technologies to make your code more secure
• Security implications of open source and proprietary software
• How to audit software
• The dreaded buffer overflow
• Access control and password authentication
• Random number generation
• Applying cryptography
• Trust management and input
• Client-side security
• Dealing with firewalls

Only by building secure software can you defend yourself against security breaches and gain the confidence that comes with knowing you won't have to play the "penetrate and patch" game anymore. Get it right the first time. Let these expert authors show you how to properly design your system; save time, money, and credibility; and preserve your customers' trust.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"This book is useful, practical, understandable, and comprehensive. The fact that you have this book in your hands is a step in the right direction. Read it, learn from it. And then put its lessons into practice." --From the Foreword by Bruce Schneier, CTO, Counterpane, and author of Secrets and Lies "A must-read for anyone writing software for the Internet." --Jeremy Epstein, Director, Product Security and Performance, webMethods "This book tackles complex application security problems like buffer overflows, race conditions, and applied cryptography in a manner that is straightforward and easy to understand. This is a must for any application developer or security professional." --Paul Raines, Global Head of Information Risk Management, Barclays Capital

Most organizations have a firewall, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems, all of which are intended to keep attackers out. So why is computer security a bigger problem today than ever before? The answer is simple--bad software lies at the heart of all computer security problems. Traditional solutions simply treat the symptoms, not the problem, and usually do so in a reactive way. This book teaches you how to take a proactive approach to computer security.

Building Secure Software cuts to the heart of computer security to help you get security right the first time. If you are serious about computer security, you need to read this book, which includes essential lessons for both security professionals who have come to realize that software is the problem, and software developers who intend to make their code behave. Written for anyone involved in software development and use--from managers to coders--this book is your first step toward building more secure software. Building Secure Software provides expert perspectives and techniques to help you ensure the security of essential software. If you consider threats and vulnerabilities early in the devel-opment cycle you can build security into your system. With this book you will learn how to determine an acceptable level of risk, develop security tests, and plug security holes before software is even shipped.

Inside you'll find the ten guiding principles for software security, as well as detailed coverage of:

Software risk management for security

Selecting technologies to make your code more secure

Security implications of open source and proprietary software

How to audit software

The dreaded buffer overflow

Access control and password authentication

Random number generation

Applying cryptography

Trust management and input

Client-side security

Dealing with firewalls

Only by building secure software can you defend yourself against security breaches and gain the confidence that comes with knowing you won't have to play the "penetrate and patch" game anymore. Get it right the first time. Let these expert authors show you how to properly design your system; save time, money, and credibility; and preserve your customers' trust.

020172152XB08202001

About the Author

John Viega is the CTO of Secure Software Solutions (www.securesw.com) and a noted expert in the area of software security. He is responsible for numerous tools in this area, including code scanners (ITS4 and RATS), random number suites (EGADS), automated repair tools, and secure programming libraries. He is also the original author of Mailman, the GNU mailing list manager.

Gary McGraw, Cigital's CTO, is a leading authority on software security. Dr. McGraw is coauthor of the groundbreaking books Building Secure Software and Exploiting Software (both from Addison-Wesley). While consulting for major software producers and consumers, he has published over ninety peer-reviewed technical publications, and functions as principal investigator on grants from DARPA, the National Science Foundation, and NIST's Advanced Technology Program. He serves on the advisory boards of Authentica, Counterpane, and Fortify Software. He is also an advisor to the computer science departments at University of California, Davis, and the University of Virginia, as well as the School of Informatics at Indiana University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 020172152X
• ISBN 13: 9780201721522
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 493