Security: The root of the problem

It doesn't seem that a day goes by without someone announcing a critical flaw in some crucial piece of software or other. Is software that bad? Are programmers so inept? What the heck is going on, and why is the problem getting worse instead of better? One distressing aspect of software security is that we fundamentally don't seem to "get it." In the 15 years I've been working the security beat, I have lost track of the number of times I've seen (and taught) tutorials on "how to write secure code" or read books on that topic.

We're stuck in an endless loop on the education concept. We've been trying to educate programmers about writing secure code for at least a decade and it flat-out hasn't worked. While I'm the first to agree that beating one's head against the wall shows dedication, I am starting to wonder if we've chosen the wrong wall. What's Plan B?

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