Foundations of Security: What Every Programmer Needs to Know (Expert's Voice)

Information Technology is for everyone, not just geeks. But that means security is everyone's business, as you will discover in the pages of this excellent book!

? Vinton G. Cerf - a Founding Father of the Internet

This book serves as a great complement to the courses that make up the Stanford Center for Professional Development (SCPD) Security Certification Program. The book explains in detail how to defend against a wide range of attacks, and teaches principles of secure system design.

? Dr. Dan Boneh, Associate Professor, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University

Foundations of Security: What Every Programmer Needs to Know teaches new and current software professionals state-of-the-art software security design principles, methodology, and concrete programming techniques they need to build secure software systems. Once youre enabled with the techniques covered in this book, you can start to alleviate some of the inherent vulnerabilities that make todays software so susceptible to attack. The book uses web servers and web applications as running examples throughout the book.

For the past few years, the Internet has had a `wild, wild west` flavor to it. Credit card numbers are stolen in massive numbers. Commercial web sites have been shut down by Internet worms. Poor privacy practices come to light and cause great embarrassment to the corporations behind them. All these security-related issues contribute at least to a lack of trust and loss of goodwill. Often there is a monetary cost as well, as companies scramble to clean up the mess when they get spotlighted by poor security practices.

It takes time to build trust with users, and trust is hard to win back. Security vulnerabilities get in the way of that trust. Foundations of Security: What Every Programmer Needs To Know helps you manage risk due to insecure code and build trust with users by showing how to write code to prevent, detect, and contain attacks.

The lead author cofounded the Stanford Center for Professional Development Computer Security Certification.This book teaches you how to be more vigilant and develop a sixth sense for identifying and eliminating potential security vulnerabilities.Youll receive hands-on code examples for a deep and practical understanding of security.Youll learn enough about security to get the job done.

User review
Wonderful book!
The best security book I have ever come across. If you want to be great programmer in IT security, then go for this bookand it will lift you to greater hights in your professional

User review
Just like the title says - this book gives ' foundations ' of security what every programmers needs to know
This book is very well written and easy to understand. I like the selection of software security topics it covers - blending of design principles and methodology with a mix of programming techniques.

Upon completion of the book, the reader should have a good basic computer security foundation.


User review
Alphabet soup with no practical guidance on security
I found this book as a collection of google-able basic material. The book provides zero guidance to a programmer on the basics for how-to implement security in code not just alphabet soup because `the devil is in the details`. I wrongly picked this book and now it just fills an odd spot of our IT library as this book has no relevance to a Microsoft or Java programmer or Web 2.0 (J*Script) programmer. With Security taking mainstream in every aspect of programming and every component of IT stack - this book did not provide any confidence to an average developer aspiring to securing SOA or J2EE/.NET application. As a whole, the book reflects poorly on the technical content maybe I am not the intended audience of this book.

User review
Easy to enjoy
Having an English major as one of the authors makes a big difference. The expertise from the other two reknown authors is communicated in simple, easy-to-understand language.

User review
Programming with Security in Mind
An excellent book for new programmers. The first part of the book provides a very good overview of security concepts. Chapters 5-10 detail different attacks and their defense. At 290 pages, the authors don't waste the reader's time. Information is well covered with enough detail for most readers.

Throughout the book the authors present code examples on exploits and their defense. Even through the examples are written in different languages, the authors explain the code clearly. The reader doesn't' have to be familiar with the particular language. I haven't written anything in Java in over six years, but had no problem understand the Java examples.

If you are a new programmer or haven't read a book on security recently, this would be the book.