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It’s Time To Move Past Vulnerability Scanning To Anti-Exploitation

Rich January 2, 2008 7 Comments

Wow. It’s 2008. How did that happen?!? When I was younger I couldn’t wait for the future. What geek can? We all grew up on entirely too much science fiction; far more of which is now reality than I expected (other than the space program; hello? NASA? Anyone home?). Now that I get older I realize that while the future is great in concept, the reality is eventually I won’t be around for it anymore. Every year is a smaller fraction of life, and thus every year passes relatively more quickly. Aw hell, I’m far too young to be thinking about garbage like this. As 2007 closed many of us pundit types devoted our time to looking at current trends and predicting the next few years. If you’ve been following me and Hoff at all, you also know some of us are always thinking about how we can do security differently. Not that we’re doing it “wrong” today, but if you don’t look for what’s next you’ll always be playing from behind. One big trend I’ve been seeing is the shift towards anti-exploitation technologies. For those who don’t know, anti-exploitation is where you build in defenses to operating systems and platforms so that when there is a vulnerability (and there will be a vulnerability), it is difficult or impossible to exploit. Java was my first introduction to the concept at the application level (sandboxing), and Vista at the operating system level. There’s no single anti-exploitation technology, but a bunch of techniques and features that work together to make exploitation more difficult. Things like ASLR (library/memory randomization), sandboxing, and data execution protection. Most of the anti-exploitation focus today is on operating systems, but conceptually it can be applied anywhere. One of my big concepts in Application and Database Monitoring and Protection (ADMP) is building anti-exploitation into business and (especially) web applications. I’ve even converted from credit monitoring to credit protection (via Debix) for anti-exploitation against identity theft. There was a lot of focus in 2007 on vulnerability scanning and secure coding. While important, those can never solve the problems. The bad guys will always find some vulnerabilities before we do. Our programmers will always make exploitable mistakes- no matter how much we hammer them with training and the code with tools. When designing security controls we must assume vulnerabilities will exist and we won’t always identify and mitigate them before they are discovered by attackers. Not that anti-exploitation is some mystical perfect remedy; it too will fail, but the goal is for it to fail slowly enough that we are able to discover, detect, and mitigate vulnerabilities before they are exploited. You’ll be hearing a lot more about anti-exploitation at all levels of the industry over the next few years, especially as we start seeing it outside of operating systems. It’s the one thing that gets me jazzed that we might be able to get a leg up on the attackers. Share:

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Off Topic: Welcome to 2008

Rich January 2, 2008 No Comments

I was debating about writing anything personal about 2008, but after reading Mike’s Security Incite today I figure a little personalization on the site won’t hurt. If you’re not interested in what I’m up to professionally and personally, this is a good post to skip. 2007 was a very intense year. I built a new house, moved, quit my job, traveled all over the freaking place, and tried my best to cling to a personal life. At times I was elated, completely burned out, inspired, bored, physically fit, and old fat and lazy. It was a heck of a year, and all in all I enjoyed it thoroughly. I’m not one for resolutions, but I’m really looking forward to 2008 and have some specific goals. Business-wise, Securosis is going better than I ever expected. I wasn’t one of those analysts that believed my own hype and assumed the world was just begging for my attention. Leaving a good job with a steady paycheck for nebulous reasons is always a little daunting, but after 4 full months on my own things are cruising along and at times I can barely keep up. I need to thank all of you for the support- from readers and commenters to paying customers. I’m well diversified in my client base (vendors, end users, and investment types), and the kinds of projects I’m engaged in. And I’m having a blast. There’s a lot on tap for 2008. I’ll be pumping out more free whitepapers through SANS- mostly focused on data and application security, with a few I hope to co-author on other topics. I have a bunch of speaking engagements lined up, and will promote those more heavily as they get closer (including RSA). If all goes well, I might even be able to self publish a book on data security before the end of the year. I’ll also continue to write over at Dark Reading, TidBITS, and other publications as opportunities come up. I’m already ecstatic about the consulting projects that are coming up- it’s been a long time since I did project-based work and I really enjoy digging in deeper on things (everything from product assessments to data security strategies). My main goal is to accomplish all of this while maintaining a good work/life balance. I’ve let that slip in the past, especially when I was an analyst. As far as I know we only have one shot on this planet and I don’t intend to spend it stressed out and working all the time. And, to be honest, the quality of work suffers if you aren’t happy. Personally the year is going to start a little rough- I have to get shoulder surgery to repair a SLAP tear. I’m a very physically active guy and it’s been torture to restrict my activities since I hurt it at the end out August. I even quit my martial arts training- can’t throw a punch. I’ll be on restricted duty for 3-6 months, and probably won’t be 100% for a year. On the upside, it gives me an excuse to return to base training, rebuild from the past years of abuse on airplanes, and enjoy some of my other hobbies. I have some woodworking projects in mind, want to finish wiring the house, and finally finish unpacking from the move. Maybe it’s selfish, but in 2008 I plan on having fun, helping others, making a living, and enjoying life. When you get down to it, what else is there? Share:

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