Lesson Learned: Security is Inevitable

The history of computing shows simple ideas that caught on: personal computers, the Internet, cloud computing, and smartphones were timely inventions that became successful, sometimes beyond the expectations of their original designers and developers. But ideas that work for one mode of use sometimes show serious limitations in other environments. Creators must anticipate unintended uses, even though predicting change is difficult. Designers must document expectations and limitations of products so that adapters will know when an expanded use threatens security. And developers must accept responsibility for the security of their products. The relatively small group of security professionals can no longer be assumed responsible for anticipating and countering all security threats.