MSL Mania: NSA & CISA Push for Memory Safety in Software – Is Your Code Keeping Up?
The NSA and CISA urge a shift to memory safe languages (MSLs) to combat memory-related vulnerabilities. While challenges like performance and tooling exist, the agencies stress these hurdles are outweighed by enhanced system integrity. MSL adoption is deemed crucial for modern software resilience, offering a safer digital future.
Hot Take:
So, the NSA and CISA are basically saying, “Hey, remember those memory leaks that made your software act like it had a hole in its bucket? Yeah, it’s time to patch that up with some Memory Safe Languages (MSLs) before your code decides to leak itself into oblivion.” In other words, if your software was a ship, it’s high time you stop using duct tape and start using welding tools. Welcome to the future of programming, where your code won’t sink faster than the Titanic!
Key Points:
- NSA and CISA want organizations to adopt Memory Safe Languages (MSLs) to combat memory-related vulnerabilities.
- MSLs, like Rust, are being pushed as foundational for modern software development.
- Transition challenges include performance overhead, tooling gaps, and lack of third-party libraries in MSLs.
- Programs and industry players are working on automating the transition and building infrastructure with MSLs.
- For environments where MSLs aren’t feasible, alternatives like memory tagging and compiler hardening are suggested.