From speaker at Seattle Java User Group
#1 Validate all user controlled input
6/10 of OWASP Top vulnerabilities, 14/25 of Mitre/SANS Top 25 coding errors are due to some form of improper input validation.
Anything a user controls an attacker controls.
Check size before using, copying
Whitelist better than blacklist
Proper encoding - characters coming in as and should go out as
Files Too! - about 75% of office security errors = file fuzzing
If you are server, never trust the client
Boundary tests in unit tests
# 2 - Compile with strictest checking
- do not use deprecated classes and methods
- class libraries exposed in customer environment
- Only silence warning if you fully understand the implications
Static code analysis tools - use them
# 3 run apps with least privilege.
Most vulnerabilities in non-security related code
If must run in root do so temporarily
Use security manager, exception handling
Robust code is safer
Exploits occur via the logging system
Write clean code
- pay attention to compiler warnings
- use a standard structure
