Quote

No amount of source-level verification or scrutiny will protect you from using untrusted code.

Security can be enhanced with hardware. You can have a software-only solution, but it can be made more robust in conjunction with hardware.

It is a fairly open secret that almost all systems can be hacked, somehow. It is a less spoken of secret that such hacking has actually gone quite mainstream.

Software patents are dangerous to software developers because they impose monopolies on software ideas.

However, writing software without defects is not sufficient. In my experience, it is at least as difficult to write software that is safe - that is, software that behaves reasonably under adverse conditions.

The problem is, we're moving to software-as-service, which can be yanked or transformed at any moment. The ability of your PC to run independent code is an important safety valve.

Most people assume that once security software is installed, they're protected. This isn't the case. It's critical that companies be proactive in thinking about security on a long-term basis.

Free open-source software, by its nature, is unlikely to feature secret back doors that lead directly to Langley, Va.

It is only the inadequacy of the criminal code that saves the hackers from very serious prosecution.

If you depend on a secret for your security, what do you do when the secret is discovered? If it is easy to change, like a cryptographic key, you do so. If it's hard to change, like a cryptographic system or an operating system, you're stuck. You will be vulnerable until you invest the time and money to design another system.