> The problem is that the people using said libraries don't know what they're doing.
I would like to suggest that the problem is that the skilled people that understand how to write crypto systems are providing libraries that are easy to misuse. Instead of providing a library that is likely to be used incorrectly without a lot of specialized knowledge, provide infrastructure that manages the crypto so the average developer doesn't need to become an expert on crypto systems.
HTTPS is a useful example. Instead of providing webapp authors a library of cypher/hash functions and warning that they shouldn't roll their own transport layer security and then acting shocked when those authors try to use that library and make a lot of mistakes, we instead separate the crypto step into a separate layer of infrastructure so the average webapp author can easily use crypto without having to learn a lot of specialized knowledge. Someone writing a Ruby on Rails app shouldn't have to write functions like pervade_encrypt($data)/pervade_decrypt($data) to move out of the plaintext world of HTTP and utilize encrypted transport. They only need to buy/LetsEncrypt a cert they can install in their webserver. They can even delegate that to their hosting provider.
"If it's possible for a human to hit the wrong button and [cause a catastrophic failure] by accident [or inexperience], then maybe the problem isn't with the human - it's with that button. [...] People make mistakes, and all of our systems need to be designed to be ready for that."
I would like to suggest that the problem is that the skilled people that understand how to write crypto systems are providing libraries that are easy to misuse. Instead of providing a library that is likely to be used incorrectly without a lot of specialized knowledge, provide infrastructure that manages the crypto so the average developer doesn't need to become an expert on crypto systems.
HTTPS is a useful example. Instead of providing webapp authors a library of cypher/hash functions and warning that they shouldn't roll their own transport layer security and then acting shocked when those authors try to use that library and make a lot of mistakes, we instead separate the crypto step into a separate layer of infrastructure so the average webapp author can easily use crypto without having to learn a lot of specialized knowledge. Someone writing a Ruby on Rails app shouldn't have to write functions like pervade_encrypt($data)/pervade_decrypt($data) to move out of the plaintext world of HTTP and utilize encrypted transport. They only need to buy/LetsEncrypt a cert they can install in their webserver. They can even delegate that to their hosting provider.
"If it's possible for a human to hit the wrong button and [cause a catastrophic failure] by accident [or inexperience], then maybe the problem isn't with the human - it's with that button. [...] People make mistakes, and all of our systems need to be designed to be ready for that."
>> Tom Scott, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dabnx8VSdkE