Summary

The takeaway from this chapter should be that no computer system is safe. You should assume that it will always be under attack by people either wanting to control it or gain access to its data. To help in designing a secure system, attention must be given to security from the very beginning of the product's design cycle. You can't just "test in" software security; it must be planned for, reviewed, designed, and then tested. Applying an iterative process of software development such as the Spiral Model detailed in Chapter 2, "The Software Development Process," will ensure that the topic is revisited throughout the development process.

A very informative website that will keep you up-to-date on computer security issues is www.securityfocus.com. If you're responsible for security testing, or even if you're not, it would be a good idea to periodically visit this site to see what hackers are up to and how they are compromising systemslarge and small.

In the next chapter you'll learn about another timely topic that encompasses all of the techniques you've learned so far, including software security testingtesting Internet websites.