Practical Security »

Most security professionals don't have the words "security" or "hacker" in their job title. Instead, as a developer you often have to fit in security alongside your official responsibilities. Identify the weaknesses in your system and defend against the attacks most likely to compromise your organization without needing to become a trained security professional.

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John B. Stetson created the hat that bears his name in 1865. Although originally intended as an outdoorsman's hat, the Stetson has evolved into hundreds of individual styles worn by people in different roles and in different climates. Depending on the needs of your software project and the size of your team, you may find yourself wearing a lot of hats, some of which require you to learn about areas that you don't know a lot about. You might think security is too complicated for non-experts to wade into, but some security, implemented properly, is always better than no security at all. Practical Security: Simple Practices for Defending Your Systems gives you the security basics that you can implement with little or no experience.

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Practical Security: Simple Practices for Defending Your Systems

Computer security is a complex issue. But you don't have to be an expert in all the esoteric details to prevent many common attacks. Attackers are opportunistic and won't use a complex attack when a simple one will do. You can get a lot of benefit without too much complexity by putting systems and processes in place that ensure you aren't making the obvious mistakes. Secure your systems better with simple (though not always easy) practices.

Implement the basics of good security now, and you'll have a solid foundation if you bring in a dedicated security staff later. Plan to patch often to improve your security posture. Identify the most common software vulnerabilities so you can avoid them when writing software. Discover cryptography—how it works, how easy it is to get wrong, and how to get it right. Configure your Windows computers securely. Defend your organization against phishing attacks with training and technical defenses.

Make simple changes to harden your system against attackers.

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