“secure code is
the first link in
the chain,” says
charlie miller, chief
security researcher
at accuvant Labs.
“People say,
‘We’re human,
we can’t write perfect
software.’ But we’re
at 50% right now.
We’re not even close.”
bile phone companies got a dollar for
every customer whose password they
set? What if we had cybersecurity edu-
cation programs, like we do for fire
safety and AIDS?”
Information sharing is another idea
that is proven easier to suggest than
to implement. Because big breaches
often evolve from smaller attacks, in-
creased transparency about tactics and
vulnerabilities could help contain the
damage. With few exceptions, how-
ever, companies are slow to publicly
acknowledge incidents, and they typi-
cally release little information about
the attacks. Could they learn from aca-
demia, where security officers take a
more collaborative approach?
Further Reading
Cate, F.H., Abrams, M.E.,
Bruening, P.J., and Swindl, O.
Dos and Don’ts of Data Breach and
Information Security. The Centre for
Information Policy Leadership, Richmond,
VA, 2009.
Cate, F.H.
Information Security Breaches: Looking
Back & Thinking Ahead. The Centre for
Information Policy Leadership, Richmond,
VA, 2008.
Cisco Systems
Email Attacks: This Time It’s Personal.
Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA, 2011.
Center for Strategic and International
Studies Commission on Cybersecurity
for the 44th Presidency
Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency.
Center for Strategic and International
Studies, Washington, D.C., 2008.
DataLossDB
http://datalossdb.org/
Leah hoffmann is a technology writer based in brooklyn,
ny.
Milestones
Computer Science Awards
The Association for the
Advancement of Artificial
Intelligence (AAAI), IEEE, and the
Electronic Design Automation
Consortium recently honored a
select set of computer scientists.
aaai seNioR memBeRs
AAAi awarded Senior member
status to nine distinguished
AAAi members at the 25th
AAAi Conference on Artificial
intelligence. the new Senior
members are Marie desJardins,
University of maryland
Baltimore County; Hans W.
Guesgen, massey University;
Tad H. Hogg, institute for
molecular manufacturing;
Diane J. Litman, University of
Pittsburgh; João Pavão Martins,
instituto Superior tecnico,
technical University of Lisbon;
Leora Morgenstern, SAiC; Ted
E. Senator, SAiC; Ramasamy
Uthurusamy, General motors;
and Holly Yanco, University of
massachusetts Lowell.
B. RamakRishNa Rau a WaRD
Yale N. Patt, an electrical and
computer engineering professor
at the University of texas at
Austin, is the recipient of the
inaugural ieee Computer
Society B. ramakrishna rau
Award, which recognizes
significant achievements in the
field of microarchitecture and
compiler code generation.
PhiL kaufmaN a WaRD
C. L. David Liu, the William
mong honorary chair professor
of computer science and
former president of the national
tsing hua University, received
the Phil Kaufman Award for
Distinguished Contributions to
electronic Design Automation
(eDA) for his fundamental and
seminal work in eDA.