Tech/code question

[elisheva_m]

I'm trying to write a scene where two co-workers are trouble-shooting a new custom security or encryption routine. Someone else (who isn't present) wrote the code and he will have been careful to ensure it works before sending it to them. So maybe something in the implementation of it?

The scene is dual purpose, showing their interaction growing closer while also hiding something else in plain sight. The tech part of it can be whatever is plausible and easy to convey without bogging it down in details. I am so out of touch with that sort of thing I don't know what's plausible any more.

What could go wrong with uploading the new code into their office network or onto their phones which would need a bit of trouble-shooting? The kind of thing one person might overlook and another catch. Preferably with them being literally close while they do this. And again - easy to convey without bogging it down in details. Jargon is fine.

Edit: Turns out jargon is not fine. Well it would be in the sense I meant, but that's not how it was taken. Am overwhelmed by how much I can't understand well enough to follow here, let alone distill into a few phrases. I know the readers for my lakorn-novel are non-existent but I can't swamp them with details.

Edit 2: Sorry to have bothered everyone. I'm just going to trash this. It was a stupid idea in the first place. Thank you for your time.

Comments

[voidampersand]

Where are the damn unit tests? If it's security code, it should have 100% code coverage, and there should be a white-paper explaining the domain, and there should be 100% domain coverage. Making sure the code works is not enough. You need to be sure there isn't any code that isn't tested. Any code that is not executed by tests is a potential bug. Maybe a potential exploit or even a back-door. It should be deleted with extreme prejudice.

Even if the code works perfectly, it is possible to have glaring security flaws. Like leaving clear-text passwords in memory. Failing to salt. Using a fast hash algorithm instead of a slow, secure one.

If it's custom encryption code, the risk factor goes up by a lot. Most new encryption algorithms are heavily scrutinized by experts before they are used in production. Which is a good thing, because most new encryption algorithms turn out to be crackable.