Computer Security U9 - Software Security

Computer Security U9 - Software Security

1. Need for security

   • "holes"
     • poor/sloppy coding
   • Software trends
     • greater networking = greater exposure
       • increasing size/complexity= harder to police
         • greater flexibility = error prone
           • lack of environment diversity = only 1 major platform
             • increasing market pressure = rushed production
   • Penetrate and patch approach
     • only fixes known vulnerabiliteis
       • only quick fixes
         • users may not use patch
           • targets symptoms not causes
             • users doing testing
               • only works on unmodified s/ware
   • Open source vs Closed source
   • Security principles
     • part of design process
       • use the K.I.S.S. model
         • reduce exposure
           • ensure "secure failure"

2. S/ware engineering life cycle

   • Requirements capture
     • Design
       • Implementation
         • Testing
           • Support

3. Languages

   • C
     • C++
       • Java
         • C#
           • LISP

4. Access controls

5. Common security problems

   • Principle of Least Privilege
     • buffer overflows
       • input handling
         • naming issues
           • race conditions = TOCTTOU
             • Firewall issues
               • cryptographic issues
                 • Bishop's list*

6. Managing security

   • risk assessment
   • Security testing
     • black box testing
     • red teaming
   • Management issues
     • distribution (DRM)
     • installation
     • maintennance
     • documentation
     • oversight

7. Java security

   • objects
     • inheritance
   • platform independence
   • language features
     • type safety
       • exception handling
     • garbage collection
       • multi-thread
   • Sandbox security model
   • signed applets
   • Java 2
   • access control & stack inspection
   • hostile applets
     • maicious applets
     • attack applets