Writing Secure Code – Links – September 26, 2008
Posted by RSSFeed | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 30-09-2008
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Apologies for this being late. Because of OOW I got a bit behind.
Passwords — This blog post from the "Blown to Bits" blog talks about problems with passwords. On a personal level – you should have a random password. No words. Just mix of characters. From a developer perspective – do not write your own login code. Almost all frameworks now have their own login subsystem – leverage that. It will allow you to focus on code that is actually core to your business application. Or as I would think – I would not want my friend Quan writing my UI but he knows how to write awesome security code. I know my friend Josh knows how to make awesome looking UI – he shouldn’t be writing my security code. And from an enterprise level – make sure you are adopting comprehensive access products such as Oracle Access Manager suite.
"Using Yahoo! Login Mechanisms for Desktop Applications" — If you want to use Yahoo! for user password management this might be useful to you.
Criminal probe of ex-Lottery employee Launched — Basically another data leak problem. Remember – when writing apps to make sure you allow for proper auditing. Also make sure to put in hooks that can allow for access controls to be written using a standard like XACML (such as provided by Oracle Entitlement Server). And if you are storing data in a database make sure the application can work with strong security measures like Oracle Database Vault and Transparent Data Encryption. And – if you managing/installing database – make sure you enable these features if your applications can support them.
Schneier On Security — Bruce Scheier who is the expert on security – has released a new book. I believe it’s a collection of his columns, so if you are a regular reader probably nothing new. However, if you are new to this field – you should get a copy. As well as his previous book Beyond Fear. Or if you are up to speed on these books – then be sure to read The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why.


















