Jay Heiser

Introduction Scheduled for a beta release at about the time this issue hits the news stands, the next version of Java will finally offer the fine-grained system resource access capabilities that Java programmers have been begging for since JDK 1.0. Not just a new capability, this... (more)

In our security consulting practice, we're seeing a lot of bad things happen this year - but outside of the laboratory, none of these failures have anything to do with Java. Sites that are concerned about Java applets should be even more concerned about e-mail messages containing... (more)

A New Buzzword The Java security community has begun to use a new buzz phrase, mobile code', to describe Web executable content like Java, JavaScript and ActiveX. The name is meant to distinguish it from non-Web forms of executable content, such as Microsoft Word macros and PostS... (more)

Java security has become an increasingly visible topic this year. Besides being front page news on both Microsoft's and Netscape's Web pages, technologies are becoming available as add-ons to increase the security of the Java environment. Researchers have already found a serious ... (more)

Decisions The choice of encryption technologies is not always easy, but fortunately there are often several equally good options. The first step in choosing an algorithm is knowing the purpose to which it will be applied. Is it to ensure privacy, integrity, authenticity or to pro... (more)

Java programmers are network programmers and increasingly, network programmers write applications that need encryption technology. The Internet is like a huge chat room. Not only is it a worldwide sniffable net, it's developing its own unique business infrastructure. New virtual ... (more)

The JDK 1.1 includes a new Java Security API which supports several important new security features, the most significant of which may turn out to be signed applets. Properly implemented, digital signatures will provide the additional trust needed to allow Java applets greater ac... (more)

Introduction Java developers are constantly becoming frustrated because of unexpected encounters with Java security features. For example, a recent posting on comp.langs.java.security complained about difficulties in being able to open a network socket with Java. After reading th... (more)

One of the most significant aspects of Java programming is that it creates applications that have extraordinary relevance to computer security. Few UNIX administrators would be prepared to allow millions of users to execute programs as root (the administrative superuser) on their... (more)