Explaining the need for a C compiler - to a security group

Cryer,Phil Phil.Cryer at edwardjones.com
Fri Oct 26 17:53:25 CEST 2007


Can anyone provide a more business sensitive response to "Isn't having a
C compiler on a prod box a security problem"?  While I am in complete
agreement with the listed response:

"The days when you could prevent people from running non-approved
programs by removing the C compiler from your system ended roughly with
the VAX 11/780 computer."

I'm looking for a bit more sensitive response, as I know my security
department is going to come back on this as I move into testing Varnish
against Squid in the next environment.  (Varnish is so much faster, and
does exactly what we want with far less config than Squid - we're really
pushing it!)

My reply is, if an attacker is on the box and can compile code, you
already have more problems to worry about.  What other arguments could I
use?

Thanks

P
 
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