Thinking Security

If you're a security or network professional, you already know the "do's and don'ts": run AV software and firewalls, lock down your systems, use encryption, watch network traffic, follow best practices, hire expensive consultants . . . but it isn't working. You're at greater risk than ever, and even the world's most security-focused organizations are being victimized by massive attacks. In Thinking Security, author Steven M. Bellovin provides a new way to think about security. As one of the world's most respected security experts, Bellovin helps you gain new clarity about what you're doing and why you're doing it. He helps you understand security as a systems problem, including the role of the all-important human element, and shows you how to match your countermeasures to actual threats. You'll learn how to move beyond last year's checklists at a time when technology is changing so rapidly. You'll also understand how to design security architectures that don't just prevent attacks wherever possible, but also deal with the consequences of failures. And, within the context of your coherent architecture, you'll learn how to decide when to invest in a new security product and when not to. Bellovin, co-author of the best-selling Firewalls and Internet Security, caught his first hackers in 1971. Drawing on his deep experience, he shares actionable, up-to-date guidance on issues ranging from SSO and federated authentication to BYOD, virtualization, and cloud security. Perfect security is impossible. Nevertheless, it's possible to build and operate security systems far more effectively. Thinking Security will help you do just that.

Steven M. Bellovin , a professor in the department of computer science at Columbia University, has played an active role in securing the Internet. He has received the Usenix Lifetime Achievement Award and the NIST/NSA National Computer Systems Security Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the Cybersecurity Hall of Fame, and has served as Chief Technologist of the Federal Trade Commission and as Security Area director for the Internet Engineering Task Force. He is coauthor of Firewalls and Internet Security, now in its second edition (Addison-Wesley, 2003).

Preface xi Part I: Defining the Problem 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 3 1.1 Changes 3 1.2 Adapting to Change 5 1.3 Security Analysis 9 1.4 A Few Words on Terminology 12 Chapter 2: Thinking About Security 15 2.1 The Security Mindset 15 2.2 Know Your Goals 17 2.3 Security as a Systems Problem 21 2.4 Thinking Like the Enemy 25 Chapter 3: Threat Models 31 3.1 Who's Your Enemy? 31 3.2 Classes of Attackers 34 3.3 Advanced Persistent Threats 36 3.4 What's at Risk? 40 3.5 The Legacy Problem 42 Part II: Technologies 43 Chapter 4: Antivirus Software 45 4.1 Characteristics 45 4.2 The Care and Feeding of Antivirus Software 51 4.3 Is Antivirus Always Needed? 53 4.4 Analysis 57 Chapter 5: Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems 61 5.1 What Firewalls Don't Do 61 5.2 A Theory of Firewalls 63 5.3 Intrusion Detection Systems 69 5.4 Intrusion Prevention Systems 71 5.5 Extrusion Detection 72 5.6 Analysis 76 Chapter 6: Cryptography and VPNs 81 6.1 Cryptography, the Wonder Drug 81 6.2 Key Distribution 84 6.3 Transport Encryption 85 6.4 Object Encryption 89 6.5 VPNs 92 6.6 Protocol, Algorithm, and Key Size Recommendations 97 6.7 Analysis 104 Chapter 7: Passwords and Authentication 107 7.1 Authentication Principles 107 7.2 Passwords 108 7.3 Storing Passwords: Users 115 7.4 Password Compromise 120 7.5 Forgotten Passwords 121 7.6 Biometrics 124 7.7 One-Time Passwords 128 7.8 Cryptographic Authentication 132 7.9 Tokens and Mobile Phones 134 7.10 Single-Sign-On and Federated Authentication 137 7.11 Storing Passwords: Servers 139 7.12 Analysis 143 Chapter 8: PKI: Public Key Infrastructures 149 8.1 What's a Certificate? 149 8.2 PKI: Whom Do You Trust? 151 8.3 PKI versus PKI 155 8.4 Certificate Expiration and Revocation 160 8.5 Analysis 166 Chapter 9: Wireless Access 169 9.1 Wireless Insecurity Myths 169 9.2 Living Connected 175 9.3 Living