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Six Dumbest Ideas In Computer Security

// September 12th, 2005 // Security & Privacy

Marcus Ranum has an article with his take on the “Six Dumbest Ideas In Computer Security”.

In short, they are:

1. Default Permit – Allowing broad access by default.
2. Enumerating Badness – Trying to handle the many “bad” things, rather than the few “good” things.
3. Penetrate and Patch – Designed with flaw-handling in mind, rather than secure by design.
4. Hacking Is Cool – Glorifying the hackers and the hacker culture.
5. Educating Users – Essentially “Penetrate and Patch” for humans. Constantly having to educate users on the bad things and how to avoid them.
6. Action Is Better Than Inaction – Cultural idiosynchracy that convinces us we have to “do something now” and be an “early adopter” rather than pausing and thinking and letting someone else walk the new technology minefield first.

Here here.

Read more at Marcus Ranum’s site.