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

["dave kleiman" <dave () davekleiman com>]

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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