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High-Security Systems Need Open-Source Software


By Robert Dewar
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January 15, 2007 —  (Page 1 of 5)
Many applications depend on software in a very critical way. Think about safety-critical applications, such as those used to control the avionics of commercial and military planes. Every time you get on any modern plane such as a Boeing 777, you literally place your life in the hands of a complex software program. A bug in this program could easily cause a fatal crash.

And yet we have had no deaths on commercial aircraft that can be attributed to software errors. We actually know pretty well how to build reliable software when we need to. It takes special techniques, which for sure are not used in most of the unreliable software that we see around. These techniques involve use of appropriate languages, as well as specialized testing and certification protocols. In some cases, mathematical “formal” methods are used to demonstrate that the code is error-free.

This surprises some people, who think that it is normal for large systems to be full of errors, and certainly we are surrounded by unreliable software. The 777 actually is a very nice illustration: The one component of the software that was not designed to meet safety-critical requirements was the cabin entertainment system, and as many experienced travelers know, this system is full of glitches and often breaks down.

Another case arises in the high-security area, where we worry not only about bugs, but about external attacks, including possible cyberterrorism. Just as an architect designing a building has to take into account not only structural soundness in “normal” conditions (including extreme weather), but also intentional attacks from terrorists or others, there are applications where being bug-free is not good enough.

THE VOTING MACHINE CASE
A case of software security that has center-stage attention these days is the code that controls voting machines. Voting machines are not a safety-critical application in the classical sense; no one dies if the application fails. Well, more accurately, no one dies directly, but indeed the possible consequences of inaccurate recording of votes are staggering, and in the worst case it could undermine critical public faith in the voting process. This is arguably an even much more critical application than the 777 avionics.




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