DEPARTMENT SEMINAR

Brian Chess, Founder/Chief Scientist
Fortify Software

October 5, 2007
Computer Science Building, Room 151
11:00 AM

Faculty Host: Brian Levine

"Secure Programming with Static Analysis"

Creating secure code requires more than just good intentions. Programmers need to know how to make their code safe in an almost infinite number of scenarios and configurations. Static source code analysis gives users the ability to review their work with a fine tooth comb and uncover the kinds of errors that lead directly to vulnerabilities. This talk frames the software security problem and shows how static analysis is part of the solution.

Highlights include:

- The most common security short-cuts and why they lead to security failures
- Why programmers are in the best position to get security right
- Where to look for security problems
- How static analysis helps
- The critical attributes and algorithms that make or break a static analysis tool

We will look at how static analysis works, how to integrate it into the software development processes, and how to make the most of it during security code review. Along the way we'll look at examples taken from real-world security incidents, showing how coding errors are exploited, how they could have been prevented, and how static analysis can rapidly uncover similar errors.

Biography:

Brian Chess is a founder of Fortify Software and serves as Fortify’s Chief Scientist, where his work focuses on practical methods for creating secure systems. His book, Secure Programming with Static Analysis, shows how static source code analysis is an indispensable tool for getting security right. Brian holds a Ph.D. in computer engineering from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied the application of static analysis to the problem of finding security-relevant defects in source code. Before settling on security, Brian spent a decade in Silicon Valley working at huge companies and small startups. He has done research on a broad set of topics, ranging from integrated circuit design all the way to delivering software as a service.