Building Secure Software: How to Avoid Security Problems the Right Way (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series) (Hardcover)

by John Viega (Author), Gary McGraw (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Cuts to the heart of computer security to help you get security right the first time. Your first step toward building more secure software. Provides expert perspectives and techniques to help you ensure the security of essential software.

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (October 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020172152X
• ISBN-13: 978-0201721522
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,092 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exposes top problems and gives a framework for closing them, April 10, 2002

By	Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

What makes this book so important is that the authors provide an analysis of the major problems with all software, and give a collection of techniques with which to address the recurring problems, such as buffer overflows, access control exposures, randomness flaws and other security-related defects. They do not attempt to provide specific solutions. Instead they raise an awareness of the common problems, discuss the underlying causes, and give a framework with which developers can use as the basis for developing secure software.

Key points of this book that I found especially useful include:
(1) Even treatment of commercial and open source software. I found this refreshing because there are two camps, Microsoft developers and open source advocates, each of which criticize the other. Yes, Microsoft has a bad reputation for security, but the open source faction has its own challenges, and the authors show the strengths and weaknesses of each in an objective manner.
(2)Surprises, such as documented cases of peer reviews that failed. I am an advocate of this technique, yet a case where a flawed, two-line piece of code that was extensively reviewed by literally thousands of reviewers and readers of a technical publication slipped by without notice for a long time.
(3) The ten guiding principles for software security encapsulate the essence of building secure software. This list and the discussion of each principle should be required reading for every architect, developed and QA engineer.Chapter 1 (Introduction to Software Security) and Chapter 6 (Auditing Software) give a framework for security and a methodical approach to quality assurance. These, in my opinion, are the heart of the book.

In addition to software security from a developer's point of view, this book also addresses other areas that need to be closely examined in order to achieve a solid security posture. In particular I liked Chapter 14, which covers database security, especially the treatment of statistical attacks. If you're a DBA this alone will make the book worth buying because despite the most careful design of views and access controls you may still be vulnerable in surprising ways. The chapters on Client-side security and firewall issues are also filled with excellent information, as is Appendix A (Cryptography Basics).

The authors have imparted the sum of their extensive experience in this book. It's up to you to take that experience and apply it. The book's accompanying website adds further value. I also recommend Writing Secure Code by Michael Howard and David Leblanc, which was written after this book, and complements it well. Both books are much-needed additions to the body of knowledge for developing secure software.

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comment from Preface author, October 15, 2001

By	Bruce Schneier (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

As I say in the Preface of this book, "We wouldn't have to spend so much time, money, and effort on network security if we didn't have such bad software security." We all know that security is risk management. _Building Secure Software_ takes the same risk-management approach to security that I espouse in _Secrets and Lies_. But while my recent focus is on detection and response, this book focuses on prevention. Most importantly, it focuses on prevention where it should occur: during software design.

_Building Secure Software_ is a critical tool in the understanding of secure software. Viega and McGraw have done an excellent job of laying out both the theory and practice of secure software design. Their book is useful, practical, understandable, and comprehensive. It won't magically turn you into a software security expert, but it will make you more sensitive to software security. And the more sensitive you are to the problem, the more likely you are to work toward a solution.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My current choice for text in computer security, December 3, 2002

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Even IT professionals are not completely aware of how much our society relies on the effective use of computers. For if they did, security issues would always be foremost in our minds. Nearly all of us lock the doors to our houses when we leave and yet there are problems with computers that are equivalent to leaving the door open and posting a large sign as to where the valuables are located. I am just as guilty as most others in this area, but the heavy object has finally hit me over the head, so I am now deeply involved in learning all aspects of computer security.
One of the best books that I have found that explains details rather than fluffy generalities is this one. In looking through books, there were so many that used the soapbox approach, proclaiming long and loud about the need for security, but never reaching the level of the designer in showing the specific ways in which security features can be implemented. This book does that. The specific code examples illustrating many of the security features show quite clearly how it is possible to include security in the basic structure of your programs.
There are those who complain that publishing details of security flaws gives people information that will allow them to become an effective black hat hacker. This is an argument that is ridiculous. A malicious user is someone with a specific state of mind, and a bit of information does not make one a criminal, just makes it slightly easier for them to engage in their criminal acts. Any law enforcement officer will tell you that to prevent crime you have to learn the many ways crimes are committed. The authors of this book show you how the black hats do their cracking.
As a consequence of reading this book, I was motivated to create a series of security lessons and write a proposal for a class in computer security for the next academic year. That class recently received overwhelming departmental approval and right now, this is the text that I will use.