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Security Issues Are Users' Fault?
Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
2006-07-28
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
David Chisnall thinks the biggest problem with computer security is you. Maybe not you, specifically, but users in general are often the "weakest link," as Chisnall pointed out in an article titled "Security Is a UI Problem."
"A machine that doesn't do anything is by nature very secure," Chisnall observed. "The problem that faces software developers is how to balance usability with security." He used the Windows system several times as an example of things both "wrong" and "right."
Under the former category, Chisnall referred to the ubiquitous dialogue boxes. "Users got used to clicking OK whenever an ActiveX control wanted to run, and a significant amount of malware spread via this mechanism," he wrote. "Sadly, it seems that Microsoft hasn't learned from this mistake. Windows Vista (if it's ever released) is going to feature even more dialog boxes popping up and encouraging the user to click OK to any security-related question."
Chisnall wasn't just criticizing Microsoft, though - he was unhappy with the security industry in general. "The focus of most security-oriented research at the moment is designing systems that are difficult to exploit from a technical standpoint, completely ignoring the fact that, for most systems, the user is the weakest link," he said.
What does Chisnall want? "I would love to see a system that presents a novel approach to a user interface for security, but everyone seems focused on competing to see who can provide the end user with the most confusing choices, and the most reasons to disable the very systems marketed as must-have features."
Chisnall makes some good points in the article, which can be found here.
Tag: User interface
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About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for SecurityProNews, InternetFinancialNews, SearchNewz, and WebProNews.
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