Moore's Law Threatens Computer Security Posted August 7, 2002 EDT 12:11PM by Agitator!!
Moore's Law, the prediction that computational power would continue to double roughly every 18 months, may have a dark side, according to security expert Paul Kocher, creating a crisis situation where computing systems are much more vulnerable to attacks.According to Kocher, the rapid increase in computing horsepower -- first expressed by Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore and known as Moore's Law -- has been the driving force behind the creation of increasingly complex systems. But as complexity increases, so do the number of avenues and opportunities for attack. Kocher's talk will show techniques used by evaluators and attackers to break overly complex, poorly tested designs, and will review basic engineering approaches that can improve security assurance.
According to Kocher, security specifications themselves are becoming so complex that often no single person even understands the entire system. "There is a general belief that cryptography gets stronger as systems get faster. While this is true for simple brute force attacks, design and implementation flaws are how attackers actually break into systems," he said. Kocher will offer attendees techniques and tools they can use to manage this complexity and make systems more secure.Click here for moore (pun intended ;-)
