Secure Coding: Principles and Practices

Description

Despite their myriad manifestations and different targets, nearly all attacks on computer systems have one fundamental cause: the code used to run far too many systems today is not secure. Flaws in its design, implementation, testing, and operations allow attackers all-too-easy access. Secure Coding: Principles & Practices looks at the problem of bad code in a new way. Packed with advice based on the authors' decades of experience in the computer security field, this concise and highly readable book explains why so much code today is filled with vulnerabilities, and tells readers what they must do to avoid writing code that can be exploited by attackers.

Full Description

Practically every day, we read about a new type of attack on computer systems and networks. Viruses, worms, denials of service, and password sniffers are attacking all types of systems -- from banks to major e-commerce sites to seemingly impregnable government and military computers --at an alarming rate. Despite their myriad manifestations and different targets, nearly all attacks have one fundamental cause: the code used to run far too many systems today is not secure. Flaws in its design, implementation, testing, and operations allow attackers all-too-easy access. Secure Coding, by Mark G. Graff and Ken vanWyk, looks at the problem of bad code in a new way. Packed with advice based on the authors' decades of experience in the computer security field, this concise and highly readable book explains why so much code today is filled with vulnerabilities, and tells readers what they must do to avoid writing code that can be exploited by attackers. Writing secure code isn't easy, and there are no quick fixes to bad code. To build code that repels attack, readers need to be vigilant through each stage of the entire code lifecycle:

Architecture: during this stage, applying security principles such as "least privilege" will help limit even the impact of successful attempts to subvert software.
Design: during this stage, designers must determine how programs will behave when confronted with fatally flawed input data. The book also offers advice about performing security retrofitting when you don't have the source code -- ways of protecting software from being exploited even if bugs can't be fixed.
Implementation: during this stage, programmers must sanitize all program input (the character streams representing a programs' entire interface with its environment -- not just the command lines and environment variables that are the focus of most security analysis).
Testing: during this stage, programs must be checked using both static code checkers and runtime testing methods -- for example, the fault injection systems now available to check for the presence of such flaws as buffer overflow.
Operations: during this stage, patch updates must be installed in a timely fashion. In early 2003, sites that had diligently applied Microsoft SQL Server updates were spared the impact of the Slammer worm that did serious damage to thousands of systems.

Beyond the technical, Secure Coding sheds new light on the economic, psychological, and sheer practical reasons why security vulnerabilities are so ubiquitous today. It presents a new way of thinking about these vulnerabilities and ways that developers can compensate for the factors that have produced such unsecured software in the past. It issues a challenge to all those concerned about computer security to finally make a commitment to building code the right way.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 No Straight Thing
1. The Vulnerability Cycle
2. What Is an Attack?
3. Why Good People Write Bad Code
4. A Call to Arms
5. Summary
Chapter 2 Architecture
1. What Is Security Architecture?
2. Principles of Security Architecture
3. Case Study: The Java Sandbox
4. Summary
Chapter 3 Design
1. Why Does Good Design Matter?
2. Secure Design Steps
3. Special Design Issues
4. Bad Practices
5. Case Studies
6. Summary
Chapter 4 Implementation
1. Good Practices
2. Bad Practices
3. Case Studies
4. Summary
Chapter 5 Operations
1. Security Is Everybody's Problem
2. Good Practices
3. Bad Practices
4. Case Studies
5. Summary
Chapter 6 Automation and Testing
1. Why Test?
2. Good General Practices
3. Good Practices Through the Lifecycle
4. Risk Assessment Methodologies
5. Case Studies
6. Summary

Appendix A Resources
1. Books
2. Papers and Articles
3. Web Sites and Online Resources
4. A Final Note on Resources
Colophon

Product Details

Title:

Secure Coding: Principles and Practices

By:

Mark G. Graff, Kenneth R. van Wyk

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print Release:

June 2003

Ebook Release:

June 2009

Pages:

224

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-00242-8

| ISBN 10:

0-596-00242-4

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-55601-3

| ISBN 10:

0-596-55601-2

Customer Reviews

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. Sarah Sherman was the production editor and copyeditor for Secure Coding: Principles and Practices. Emily Quill and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Reg Aubry wrote the index.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The image on the cover of Secure Coding: Principles and Practices is an original illustration taken from Heck's Pictorial Archive of Nature and Science. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with Quark-XPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Andrew Savikas to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing.

O'Reilly Books & Videos

Secure Coding: Principles and Practices

Chapter 1 No Straight Thing

The Vulnerability Cycle

What Is an Attack?

Why Good People Write Bad Code

A Call to Arms

Summary

Chapter 2 Architecture

What Is Security Architecture?

Principles of Security Architecture

Case Study: The Java Sandbox

Summary

Chapter 3 Design

Why Does Good Design Matter?

Secure Design Steps

Special Design Issues

Bad Practices

Case Studies

Summary

Chapter 4 Implementation

Good Practices

Bad Practices

Case Studies

Summary

Chapter 5 Operations

Security Is Everybody's Problem

Good Practices

Bad Practices

Case Studies

Summary

Chapter 6 Automation and Testing

Why Test?

Good General Practices

Good Practices Through the Lifecycle

Risk Assessment Methodologies

Case Studies

Summary

Appendix A Resources

Books

Papers and Articles

Web Sites and Online Resources

A Final Note on Resources

Colophon