Responsibility for Security

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Responsibility for Security

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Sunday, May 06, 2012 1:39 PM

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Responsibility for Security

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Post #1295720

Jeff Moden

Posted Sunday, May 06, 2012 8:18 PM

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I've found that the real reason why there are security holes in systems is because companies have been talked into having them. "Oh... the developers need to have DBO or SA privs in production." "Oh... we have super users that need to be able to see everything." "Oh... it takes too long to write/rollout secure code."

Oh oh oh-oh oh!

--Jeff Moden

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Stop thinking about what you want to do to a row... think, instead, of what you want to do to a column."

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Post #1295758

IceDread

Posted Monday, May 07, 2012 12:21 AM

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Hehe good one Jeff Moden.

Interesting editorial, thou I'd like to see some real statistics.

I know there are developers that are ignorant in nature as well as there are those who are not.

"Most developers are reluctant to take the responsibility in security and assume that this is the job of web administrators and network engineers."

I do not want to believe that and I do not believe that. All thou maybe we have a better morale in Sweden? I don't really believe that ether thou.

Post #1295790

chrisn-585491

Posted Monday, May 07, 2012 7:02 AM

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If management makes security a priority and makes sure there are proper resources and training in place, then applications and systems would be more secure.

As developer, I have X amount of time and budget and Y amount of projects and responsibilities. Guess what is a lower priority than functionality?

Post #1295900

bitbucket-25253

Posted Monday, May 07, 2012 7:58 AM

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Responsibility for security starts at the top (CEO - Chief Executive Officer) and carries down the chain of command to IT Managers, System Administrators, DBAs, Developers, and last but not the least users. There should be in place a training program, (and budget monies) for new employees joining the company at any level (with a requirement for the program to be successfully completed before attempting to perform any job duties).

Further there also must be periodic reviews to analyze any security breaches, and a plan developed to close those "loop holes", with specific assignments at each level of command including a time table for completion of the corrective action required.

I believe it must be a cooperative effort, whole heartedly supported by every individual that has access to data, in any form what so ever, either at the DB level, or handling of say printed management reports.

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

Ron

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Post #1295918

David.Poole

Posted Monday, May 07, 2012 9:41 AM

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"Most developers are reluctant to take the responsibility in security and assume that this is the job of web administrators and network engineers."

I think it is a case of the feat that responsibility = blame. With very few exceptions the developers I have worked with have taken security very seriously but have been hampered by lack of knowledge.

Like most subjects you can read up on basic things such as preventing SQL Injection Attacks and Least Privilege Permissions but going beyond that what do you do?
Do the non-technical parts of your company realise that it takes time to design a robust system?
Do they realise that they have a very big role to play in helping with security?

Security, like quality has to be part of the DNA of your internal systems. Everyone is responsible.
There also needs to be a clear chain of command so if a hole is found everyone knows who to escalate it to in order to get it fixed.

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Post #1295970

RwCC

Posted Tuesday, May 08, 2012 2:37 AM

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As a developer and not a SQL professional *ducks for cover* I take security very seriously, my problem in my current office is that security is rarely a considered feature. It generally tends to be nothing more than making sure a user is a member of an Active Directory group...

Post #1296289

JimBama08

Posted Tuesday, May 08, 2012 12:35 PM

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The editorial mentions that "we haven't yet built a good, easy to understand framework that provides good monitoring and auditing in a way the majority of DBAs can understand and implement". I think that last bit is a fallacy. As a DBA and a manager, I know that I cannot be the person to implement monitoring/auditing of database security. I have a lot of responsibility for managing security at the database layer, but I will always have the "keys to the kingdom". As such, auditing has to happen from some other angle to prevent "inside jobs", which represent a large percentage of data breaches to begin with.

I've implemented an appliance-based approach that does packet-sniffing in a previous company and I think that was a good approach. I'd be curious to know how others are tackling database auditing.

~~ Everything in moderation, including moderation. ~~

Post #1296678

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