Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software View Larger Image | David Rice
Addison-Wesley, Paperback, Published November 2007, 250 pages, ISBN 0321477898 | List Price: $29.99
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“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.
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
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