Security not primary focus of most new technologies

InformationWeek author Larry Greenemeier asks: is Google's recent vulnerability a sign of a broader Web 2.0 weakness? While implications that many of the Internet's hot new AJAX powered sites aren't secure isn't new, the recent article published on Jan 3rd highlights growing privacy concerns over social networking and other new technologies.

Most of the blame lies squarely on client-side or browser based functionality which for the most part is largely untested from a strict security standpoint. Still I find it hard to believe that solutions can not be found that will both patch existing vulnerabilities as well as prevent more serious flaws in the future.

In some ways the current rash of fear over AJAX is part of the natural life cycle of technology. To paraphrase: First someone says "Wow this is cool" and then uses the technology. They tell their friends and then more folks jump on board. Eventually the popularity of the technology makes it a prime target for scammers, and there are one or two high profile security issues. Then, upon seeing the danger, developers and the like decide to beef up the security. This either works or it doesn't depending on how the technology is designed.

There are of course exceptions to this rule, but they are very rare. Typically creative minds want to make something that's very cool and unique and unless they are disciplined otherwise will only think of security as a secondary item. This isn't necessarily a bad thing especially for prototype systems. However it's because of this that I would caution most folks from becoming early adopters of new technology when sensitive or personal information is involved.

Of course, for those of us that are eager to try out the latest next big thing it's often hard to restrain the urge to plop down that beta App or sign up for that web service. Though we desire to live dangerously, we also need to be mindful of the type of information we are exposing to the world, and to limit the scope of that as much as possible. This is often times the only way you can protect yourself when the inevitable yet unthinkable happens.