Lehman, Brooks & Security

I have found an excellent description of phenomenon of degrading security of systems that are not maintained. The description comes from a classic in the field of software development Meir Lehman cited by even bigger classic Paul T Brooks:

The entropy of a system increases with time unless specific work is executed to maintain or reduce it.

OR

Less and less effort is spent on fixing original design flaws; more and more is spent on fixing flaws introduced by earlier fixes," wrote Brooks. "As time passes, the system becomes less and less well-ordered. Sooner or later the fixing ceases to gain any ground. Each forward step is matched by a backward one. Although in principle usable forever, the system has worn out as a base for progress.

This is the right argument for security audits.

[Salon] via [Scripting News]

7:59:52 PM    

Hot in 2002/2003

• Identity and access management
• Intrusion detection
• Encryption

[METABits]

7:35:16 PM    

METAGroup: Be careful when deciding between Liberty Alliance and Passport

"Organizations must carefully evaluate their participation in identity management schemes such as Passport and the Liberty Alliance, because consumer backlash may ensure similar political reactions to proposed citizen ID/smart cards in many countries through the '70s, '80s, and early '90s." [METABits]

7:27:18 PM