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Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software
- By David Rice
- Published Nov 29, 2007 by Addison-Wesley Professional.
- Copyright 2008
- Dimensions: 6x9
- Pages: 384
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-321-47789-8
- ISBN-13: 978-0-321-47789-7
- eBook (Watermarked)
- ISBN-10: 0-321-54391-2
- ISBN-13: 978-0-321-54391-2
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Geekonomics Audio Podcasts
Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software - Parts 1-3
Podcast Part 1: David Rice and Ben Rothke discuss how current market incentives might be changed to protect you and your identity.
Podcast Part 2: David Rice and Ben Rothke discuss the "cement" metaphor as it pertains to software security.
Podcast Part 3: David Rice and Ben Rothke discuss accountability for vulnerable software.
Product Author Bios
David Rice is an internationally recognized information security professional and an accomplished educator and visionary. For a decade he has advised, counseled, and defended global IT networks for government and private industry. David has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense for "significant contributions" advancing security of critical national infrastructure and global networks. Additionally, David has authored numerous IT security courses and publications, teaches for the prestigious SANS Institute, and has served as adjunct faculty at James Madison University. He is a frequent speaker at information security conferences and currently Director of The Monterey Group.
“The clarity of David’s argument and the strength of his conviction are truly inspiring. If you don’t believe the world of software affects the world in which you live, you owe it to yourself to read this book.”
–Lenny Zeltzer, SANS Institute faculty member and the New York Security Consulting Manager at Savvis, Inc.
“Geekonomics stays with you long after you finish reading the book. You will reconsider every assumption you have had about software costs and benefits.”
–Slava Frid, Gemini Systems, CTO, Resilience Technology Solutions
“Information Security is an issue that concerns governments, companies and, increasingly, citizens. Are the computer systems and software to which we entrust our sensitive and critical information, technologies that are out of control? David Rice has written an important and welcome book that goes to the heart of this issue, and points to solutions that society as a whole needs to debate and embrace.”
–Nick Bleech, IT Security Director, Rolls-Royce
“If you are dependent upon software (and of course, all of us in the modern world are) this book is a fabulous discussion of how and why we should worry.”
–Becky Bace
The Real Cost of Insecure Software
• In 1996, software defects in a Boeing 757 caused a crash that killed 70 people…
• In 2003, a software vulnerability helped cause the largest U.S. power outage in decades…
• In 2004, known software weaknesses let a hacker invade T-Mobile, capturing everything from passwords to Paris Hilton’s photos…
• In 2005, 23,900 Toyota Priuses were recalled for software errors that could cause the cars to shut down at highway speeds…
• In 2006 dubbed “The Year of Cybercrime,” 7,000 software vulnerabilities were discovered that hackers could use to access private information…
• In 2007, operatives in two nations brazenly exploited software vulnerabilities to cripple the infrastructure and steal trade secrets from other sovereign nations…
Software has become crucial to the very survival of civilization. But badly written, insecure software is hurting people–and costing businesses and individuals billions of dollars every year. This must change. In Geekonomics, David Rice shows how we can change it.
Rice reveals why the software industry is rewarded for carelessness, and how we can revamp the industry’s incentives to get the reliability and security we desperately need and deserve. You’ll discover why the software industry still has shockingly little accountability–and what we must do to fix that.
Brilliantly written, utterly compelling, and thoroughly realistic, Geekonomics is a long-overdue call to arms. Whether you’re software user, decision maker, employee, or business owner this book will change your life…or even save it.
The Alarming Cost of Insecure, Badly Written Software...
and How to Finally Fix the Problem, Once and for All!
Six billion crash test dummies: why you’re at greater risk than you ever imagined.
You pay the price: why consumers are legally and financially responsible for the mistakes of software manufacturers.
Broken windows: how software promotes epidemic cyber crime and threatens national security.
Who runs the show?: Why software manufacturers fought against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s attempts to protect the U.S. blood supply.
Protecting national infrastructure: real incentives for transforming software manufacturing.
Surviving the information superhighway: practical, must-read advice in a world of insecure code.
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xix
About the Author xx
Chapter 1: The Foundation of Civilization 1
Chapter 2: Six Billion Crash Test Dummies: Irrational Innovation and Perverse Incentives 19
Chapter 3: The Power of Weaknesses: Broken Windows and National Security 73
Chapter 4: Myopic Oversight: Blinded by Speed, Baffled by Churn 131
Chapter 5: Absolute Immunity: You Couldn’t Sue Us Even If You Wanted To 179
Chapter 6: Open Source Software: Free, But at What Cost? 243
Chapter 7: Moving Forward: Rational Incentives for a Different Future 273
Epilogue 321
Notes 325
Index 341
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Author's Site
See the First Safari “Search This Book” Widget on David Rice's Site
PTG and Safari Books Online have collaborated to launch a beta release of a "Search This Book" widget for integration into the websites of technical book authors. The widget enhances the experience for visitors by enabling them to go beyond the book description and to locate relevant content from within the book by conducting full-text searches using the widget. Read the announcement.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Geekonomics--Don't let the title fool you; this is serious stuff, By
This review is from: Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software (Hardcover)
Every once in a while I encounter someone's work whose sanity of argument, integrity of passion, and elegance of expression convinces me in an instant that I have found a comrade. Recently reading the new book "Geekonomics" by David Rice was such an encounter. Rice is a prophet, and like most true prophets, what he is saying is something you won't like hearing. Geekonomics warns against the dangers of software. That's right--software--which we rely upon every day to a rapidly increasing degree. Rice is no crackpot or self-proclaimed guru looking to make a quick buck with this book. His warnings are akin to those of Alan Cooper in "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" and my own as well. While Cooper and I rail against software's inexcusable dysfunctionality, however, Rice points out very real dangers that threaten the world. Most software is bad, not just because it is much harder to use and far less effective than it ought to be; it is also insecure, which invites danger. The more we...
Read more
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Eloquently shows the dangers and expenses of insecure software,
This review is from: Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software (Hardcover)
First the good news -- in a fascinating and timely new book Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software, David Rice clearly and systematically shows how insecure software is a problem of epic proportions, both from an economic and safety perspective. Currently, software buyers have very little protection against insecure software and often the only recourse they have is the replacement cost of the media. For too long, software manufactures have hidden behind a virtual shield that protects them from any sort of liability, accountability or responsibility. Geekonomics attempts to stop them and can be deemed the software equivalent of Unsafe at Any Speed. That tome warned us against driving unsafe automobiles; Geekonomics does the same for insecure software.Now the bad news -- we live in a society that tolerates 20,000 annual alcohol-related fatalities (40% of total traffic fatalities) and cares more about Brittany Spears' antics than the national diabetes epidemic... Read more
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
A call to action for every man and woman, By
This review is from: Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software (Hardcover)
Depending on who you ask, mankind has survived on this planet for somewhere between 10,000 and 160,000 years. However, we are the first generation to be dependent on software. Geekonomics opens with a discussion of the importance of cement and how crucial it is to our civilization. From roads to sewers, cement is our infrastructure and I could not agree more. After the driest summer since they have been measuring such things, the rain has been falling and falling and falling and my farm is one big mudhole. Every unimproved road is dangerous and some of the asphalt is failing. So I am replacing and improving with cement. It is expensive, but cement roads will outlast me, my son and his sons. Software is as important to infrastructure as cement as a foundation of civilization asserts the author of Geekonomics, David Rice, but while considerable energy has been expended to normalize the manufacture and application of cement, much less work has been done with software.While... Read more |
Online Sample Chapter
The Real Cost of Insecure Software: The Foundation of Civilization
Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xix
About the Author xx
Chapter 1: The Foundation of Civilization 1
Chapter 2: Six Billion Crash Test Dummies: Irrational Innovation and Perverse Incentives 19
Chapter 3: The Power of Weaknesses: Broken Windows and National Security 73
Chapter 4: Myopic Oversight: Blinded by Speed, Baffled by Churn 131
Chapter 5: Absolute Immunity: You Couldn’t Sue Us Even If You Wanted To 179
Chapter 6: Open Source Software: Free, But at What Cost? 243
Chapter 7: Moving Forward: Rational Incentives for a Different Future 273
Epilogue 321
Notes 325
Index 341
Preface
Downloadable Sample Chapter
Errata
Warning and Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an "as is" basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the CD or programs accompanying it.
| ErrorLocation | Error | Correction | DateAdded |
|---|---|---|---|
| ii | Missing Author Photo Info: Author Photo Heidi Borgia | fixed | 1/9/2008 |
| pxx | Author bio changed: David Rice is an accomplished information security professional, educator, and visionary. For more than a decade he has advised, counseled, and defended global IT networks for government and private industry. David is Director of The Monterey Group. |
David Rice is an internationally recognized information security professional and an accomplished educator and visionary. For a decade he has advised, counseled, and defended global IT networks for government and private industry. David has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense for “significant contributions” advancing security of critical national infrastructure and global networks. Additionally, David has authored numerous IT security courses and publications, teaches for the prestigious SANS Institue, and has served as adjunct faculty as James Madison University. He is a frequent speaker at information security conferences and currently Director of The Monterey Group. |
1/9/2008 |
| p2 | 2nd para: Roman cement gets its name from its extensive use by the Romans to construct the infrastructure for their republic and empire. | Roman cement gets its name from Romans who used it in a vast majority of infrastructure for both the Republic and Empire. | 1/9/2008 |
| p8 | 1st sent: Unlike Portland cement, for more than 50 years software of all types and function has been continuously released into the stream of commerce, plagued by design and implementation defects that were largely detectable and preventable by manufacturers, but were not. | Unlike Portland cement, for more than 50 years software of all types and function has been continuously released into the stream of commerce plagued by design and implementation defects that were largely detectable and preventable by manufacturers, but were not. | 1/9/2008 |
| p10 | 4th para: Why do software users willingly and repeatedly accept licensing agreements that absolve software manufacturers of most forms of liability for any design or application defects that might result in injury, harm, or damages? | Why do software users willingly and repeatedly accept licensing terms that absolve software manufacturers of most forms of liability for any design or implementation defects that might result in injury, harm, or damages? | 1/9/2008 |
| p11 | Last para: Costs are not always obvious to the individual at time of “purchase” so to speak, and can be hidden or otherwise obscured. | Costs are not always obvious to the individual at “time of purchase” so to speak, and can be hidden or otherwise obscured. | 1/9/2008 |
| p13 | Last sent: But as software is a human creation, it does need to remain a frustrating ghost. | But as software is a human creation, it does not need to remain a frustrating ghost. | 1/9/2008 |
| p14 | 3rd para: This is a challenging task considering that unlike statistics regarding accidental drowning, good data on which to base cost estimates regarding insecure software is notoriously lacking and inaccurate for two reasons. | This is a challenging task considering that unlike statistics regarding accidental drowning, good data on which to base cost estimates regarding insecure software is notoriously lacking and inaccurate for three reasons. | 1/9/2008 |
| p14 | Add to end of 3rd para: Finally, the real cost of something might not be measured in money alone. | fixed | 1/9/2008 |
| p45 | Last para: Unfortunately, the reason might never be known by the manufacturer either for reasons that will be discussed later. | Unfortunately, the reason might never be known by the manufacturer either for reasons that are discussed shortly. | 1/9/2008 |
| p46 | Last para: As far as low production costs go, software is king. In fact, it is not only king, it is the whole royal court. | As far as low production costs go, software is king. In fact, software is not only king, it is the whole royal court. | 1/9/2008 |
| p47 | 4th para: This is not true for software manufacturers, so there is no requirement to design correctly and test thoroughly, just enough to get the product out the door in some semblance of working order. | This is not true for software manufacturers, so there are few compelling incentives to design correctly and test thoroughly, just enough to get the product out the door in some semblance of working order. | 1/9/2008 |
| p48 | 2nd para: Worse, by being late to the market, a company threatens its chances at becoming a standard by which all others will be measured. Being first to market confers tremendous advantage in the marketplace. | Worse, by being late to the market, a company threatens its chances at becoming the standard by which all others will be measured. Being first to market confers tremendous advantage in the marketplace, but especially in the software market. Speed matters greatly. | 1/9/2008 |
| p48 | 3rd para: When a software application, whether a desktop application, search engine, or operating system, is widely accepted, so too are the software’s implicit ways of doing things such as saving files to disk, talking to other computers or software applications, interactivity between users and the software itself, and so on. | When a software application, whether a desktop application, search engine, or operating system, is widely accepted, so too are the software’s implicit ways of doing things such as saving files to disk, how information is indexed for searching, talking to other computers or software applications, placement and order of menus or tool bars, and so on. | 1/9/2008 |
| p49 | 2nd para: The underlying message of the commercial and the People Ready campaign in general was simple, “Whereever people go, they will be productive because we have 90 percent market share, and almost everyone at some point has probably worked with our software.” | The underlying (and implied) message of the commercial, and the People Ready campaign in general, was simple: “Where ever people go, they will be productive because we [Microsoft] have 90 percent market share, and almost everyone at some point has probably worked with our software.” | 1/9/2008 |
| p52 | 4th para, last sent: The high cost of switching is a powerful disincentive for users and potentially cripples coordinated attempts at iPodaction. | The high cost of switching is a powerful disincentive for users and potentially cripples coordinated attempts at consumer action. | 1/9/2008 |
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