As a part of an ongoing effort to maintain you knowledgeable about our newest work, this weblog put up summarizes some latest publications from the SEI within the areas of provide chain threat administration, technical debt, massive language fashions, quantum computing, acquisition, and trustworthiness in AI programs. These publications spotlight the newest work of SEI technologists in these areas. This put up features a itemizing of every publication, creator(s), and hyperlinks the place they are often accessed on the SEI web site.
The Measurement Challenges in Software program Assurance and Provide Chain Danger Administration
by Nancy R. Mead, Carol Woody, and Scott Hissam
On this paper, the authors focus on the metrics wanted to foretell cybersecurity in open supply software program and the way requirements are wanted to make it simpler to use these metrics within the provide chain. The authors present examples of doubtless helpful metrics and underscore the necessity for information assortment and evaluation to validate the metrics. They assert that defining metrics, gathering and analyzing information for instance their utility, and utilizing commonplace strategies requires unbiased collaborative work to realize the specified outcomes.
Learn the white paper.
Report back to the Congressional Protection Committees on Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal 12 months 2022 Part 835 Impartial Examine on Technical Debt in Software program-Intensive Techniques
by Ipek Ozkaya, Forrest Shull, Julie B. Cohen, and Brigid O’Hearn
A group from SEI performed an impartial examine to fulfill the necessities of the Fiscal 12 months 2022 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) Part 835, Impartial Examine on Technical Debt in Software program-Intensive Techniques.
This report describes the conduct of the examine, summarizes the technical developments noticed, and presents the ensuing suggestions. The examine methodology features a literature evaluate, a evaluate of SEI stories developed for program stakeholders, deep dives on program information from SEI engagements with Division of Protection (DoD) applications, and interviews performed utilizing the ten examine components laid out in Part 835(b).
The examine concludes that applications are conscious of the significance of managing technical debt. Moreover, various DoD applications have established practices to actively handle technical debt. Throughout this examine, the DoD revealed a number of steerage paperwork that start to incorporate technical debt and technical debt administration as a necessary apply for profitable software program improvement. Examine suggestions embody that the DoD should proceed to replace coverage/steerage and empower applications to include technical debt practices as a part of their software program improvement actions whereas enabling analysis in improved software help and information assortment.
View the report.
Assessing Alternatives for LLMs in Software program Engineering and Acquisition
By Stephany Bellomo, Shen Zhang, James Ivers, Julie B. Cohen, and Ipek Ozkaya
On this white paper, the authors look at how choice makers, resembling technical leads and program managers, can assess the health of enormous language fashions (LLMs) to handle software program engineering and acquisition wants. They introduce exemplar situations in software program engineering and software program acquisition, and so they establish frequent archetypes. The authors additionally describe frequent considerations involving the usage of LLMs and enumerate techniques for mitigating these considerations. Utilizing these frequent considerations and techniques, the authors reveal how choice makers can assess the health of LLMs for their very own use circumstances via two examples.
Learn the white paper.
The Cybersecurity of Quantum Computing: 6 Areas of Analysis
By Tom Scanlon
Analysis and improvement of quantum computer systems continues to develop at a speedy tempo. The U.S. authorities alone spent greater than $800 million on quantum data science analysis in 2022. Thomas Scanlon, who leads the information science group within the SEI CERT Division, was not too long ago invited to be a participant within the Workshop on Cybersecurity of Quantum Computing, co-sponsored by the Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) and the White Home Workplace of Science and Know-how Coverage, to look at the rising area of cybersecurity for quantum computing. On this SEI podcast, Scanlon discusses tips on how to create the self-discipline of cyber safety of quantum computing and descriptions six areas of future analysis in quantum cybersecurity.
Hearken to the SEI podcast.
Learn Tom Scanlon’s weblog put up, which supplies a technical deep dive into this work.
Connecting Stakeholders for DoD Software program Techniques
By Hasan Yasar
The Deputy Secretary of Protection permitted and signed the Division of Protection (DoD) Software program Modernization Technique on February 1, 2022. This act initiated a transformative journey for the division to ship sturdy software program capabilities on the tempo of evolving calls for. Although system complexity and stakeholder decentralization usually problem our means to securely ship capabilities on time and on finances, fostering collaboration and facilitating open discussions about these challenges, strategizing, and devising actionable plans can be essential to overcoming them. This webcast highlights how the December 2023 DoD Weapon Techniques Software program Summit options in addressing these challenges and offering us a chance to collectively devise efficient options.
Attendees
- achieve an understanding for software program modernization technique
- uncover difficult areas for DoD weapon programs
- observe and be taught enablers for fixing system complexity
- align your system’s aims together with your software program engineering practices
- achieve insights from key talks and classes
Measuring the Trustworthiness of AI Techniques
By Katherine-Marie Robinson, Carol J. Smith, and Alexandrea Steiner
The power of synthetic intelligence (AI) to companion with the software program engineer, physician, or warfighter will depend on whether or not these finish customers belief the AI system to companion successfully with them and ship the result promised. To construct applicable ranges of belief, expectations have to be managed for what AI can realistically ship. On this podcast from the SEI’s AI Division, Carol Smith, a senior analysis scientist specializing in human-machine interplay, joins design researchers Katie Robinson and Alex Steiner, to debate tips on how to measure the trustworthiness of an AI system in addition to questions that a corporation ought to ask earlier than figuring out if it needs to make use of a brand new AI expertise.
Hearken to the podcast.
Learn the associated SEI weblog put up, Contextualizing Finish-Consumer Wants: Find out how to Measure the Trustworthiness of an AI System, by Carrie Gardner, Katherine-Marie Robinson, Carol J. Smith, and Alexandrea Steiner.