> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wall, Kevin > Sent: 24 May 2007 12:45 > To: McGovern, James F (HTSC, IT) > Cc: SC-L@securecoding.org > Subject: Re: [SC-L] Tools: Evaluation Criteria > > James McGovern wrote... > > > Maybe folks are still building square windows because we haven't > > realized how software fails and can describe it in terms of > a pattern. > > The only pattern-oriented book I have ran across in my > travels is the > > Core Security Patterns put out by the folks at Sun. Do you think we > > should stop talking solely about code and start talking about how > > vulnerabilities are repeatedly introduced and describe > using patterns > > notation? > [snip
I am very happy to accept that we may not understand /all/ or even /most/ of the ways software fails but we do know an awful lot. Buffer overflows, numeric overflows and division by zero have been wee understood for years. The first was limited by various versions of Pascal ages ago. Yet we are still clinging to techniques that hope we can spot a buffer overflow "pattern" after construction (and hopefully before an exploiter!). There is a nice symmetry about my aeronautical analogy. The Comet disasters occurred just over 50 years after the Wright brothers first flew; and we are still fiddling around with buffer overflows just over 50 years after Colossus (at the Bletchley Park crypto centre of Enigma fame) signalled the start of the computer age. That's all, back to the asylum! Peter This email is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, disclosure, copying or distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Praxis. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect, no responsibility is accepted by Praxis or any of its associated companies for any loss or damage arising in any way from the receipt or use thereof. The IT Department at Praxis can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Praxis High Integrity Systems Ltd: Company Number: 3302507, registered in England and Wales Registered Address: 20 Manvers Street, Bath. BA1 1PX VAT Registered in Great Britain: 682635707 _______________________________________________ Secure Coding mailing list (SC-L) SC-L@securecoding.org List information, subscriptions, etc - http://krvw.com/mailman/listinfo/sc-l List charter available at - http://www.securecoding.org/list/charter.php SC-L is hosted and moderated by KRvW Associates, LLC (http://www.KRvW.com) as a free, non-commercial service to the software security community. _______________________________________________
