As organizations change the metrics of success for developers—and developers themselves learn more about how to prevent exploits—hackers are quickly losing their most valuable allies.
by Roger Thornton
April 12, 2005
o one who works in IT today can escape the carnage wreaked by hackers. Worms and other exploits are increasingly designed to target specific vulnerabilities in software ranging from operating systems to business applications—and for that reason, attention is increasingly focused on the development community. The industry is starting to ask itself how it can build more secure software.
It's true that perimeter security has gotten better and there's been a flurry of new legislation and better-trained law enforcement at all levels. These have combined to make success quite a bit harder for hackers. But the real threat looming for the hacker community is that their most valuable, and usually unwitting, ally is now poised to become their greatest adversary. You see, until now, hackers have relied on the security ignorance of developers to succeed. But trends are showing that the people who make software are starting to fight back.
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Roger Thornton is the Chief Technology Officer for Fortify Software. He has proven his leadership in the development of software products over the last 16 years by serving in engineering and product management roles at top-tier technology companies including Cypress Semiconductor, Apple/Taligent, and Sun/JavaSoft, where he was responsible for market development for Java 1.0. Over the last 7 years, Roger has served in roles ranging from technology consultant, interim executive, advisor, and investor to more than 20 technology startups, seeing several through to successful IPOs and acquisitions.
o one who works in IT today can escape the carnage wreaked by hackers. Worms and other exploits are increasingly designed to target specific vulnerabilities in software ranging from operating systems to business applications—and for that reason, attention is increasingly focused on the development community. The industry is starting to ask itself how it can build more secure software.
Roger Thornton is the Chief Technology Officer for Fortify Software. He has proven his leadership in the development of software products over the last 16 years by serving in engineering and product management roles at top-tier technology companies including Cypress Semiconductor, Apple/Taligent, and Sun/JavaSoft, where he was responsible for market development for Java 1.0. Over the last 7 years, Roger has served in roles ranging from technology consultant, interim executive, advisor, and investor to more than 20 technology startups, seeing several through to successful IPOs and acquisitions.
