Security for system programmers
When I started programming, security was not an issue. Imagine this – my computer had one connection, the one to the power outlet on the wall. And, of course, the computer was attached to a television to display whatever it needed to show. Yes, a TV. I did not have a monitor; I could not afford one back then. I started the machine up, and it would load the OS and the basic programming environment from ROM. And that was it. This setup was extremely secure – there were no attachments to anything that could interfere with my machine and data. I kept the computer in my bedroom, so physical security was also taken care of (no one goes into a teenager’s bedroom voluntarily; the mess was unbelievable).
Fast-forward to today. My desktop computer is always on and always connected to the internet. Some systems I have written run on a virtual machine with a cloud provider; others are serverless and waiting for connections.
My firewalls...
