HTTPS: (Sub)Standard Security pt.3

In the first post in this series on the deficiencies of standardized security systems I promised a post on "X.509 certificates". By this I intended to discuss the commonly used system for authenticating and securing communications with web sites, widely known as SSL. As SSL (or to be precise, TLS) is just one component of this system (and is also used for other purposes) I will use the term "HTTPS system", though in fact the same system is used for more than just the HTTPS protocol.

The seven laws of security engineering

There are a few laws in the field of security engineering that impact many aspects of the discipline. Most of these laws are self evident and well known, but the application of these laws to real world situations is difficult. In fact most security failures in the field can be traced to one or more of these laws.

Following is a list of seven such laws with a short description of each law. Future posts will elaborate on these laws (and others) as part of an analysis of specific cases.

Law #1: There are always assumptions

You might ask a security engineer if a certain system is secure. If they give you an answer which sounds evasive and noncommittal that’s good – otherwise they’re not telling you the whole truth.

Because the truth is that no system is 100% secure in and of itself. The most a security engineer can say is that under certain assumptions the system is secure.