As a part of an ongoing effort to maintain you knowledgeable about our newest work, this weblog submit summarizes some latest publications from the SEI within the areas of provide chain danger administration, technical debt, giant language fashions, quantum computing, acquisition, and trustworthiness in AI techniques. These publications spotlight the most recent work of SEI technologists in these areas. This submit features a itemizing of every publication, writer(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 talk about 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 probably helpful metrics and underscore the necessity for knowledge assortment and evaluation to validate the metrics. They assert that defining metrics, amassing and analyzing knowledge as an instance their utility, and utilizing normal strategies requires unbiased collaborative work to attain the specified outcomes.
Learn the white paper.

Report back to the Congressional Protection Committees on Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Yr 2022 Part 835 Impartial Research on Technical Debt in Software program-Intensive Techniques
by Ipek Ozkaya, Forrest Shull, Julie B. Cohen, and Brigid O’Hearn

A crew from SEI carried out an unbiased examine to fulfill the necessities of the Fiscal Yr 2022 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) Part 835, Impartial Research on Technical Debt in Software program-Intensive Techniques.

This report describes the conduct of the examine, summarizes the technical traits noticed, and presents the ensuing suggestions. The examine methodology features a literature overview, a overview of SEI reviews developed for program stakeholders, deep dives on program knowledge from SEI engagements with Division of Protection (DoD) applications, and interviews carried out 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, a variety of DoD applications have established practices to actively handle technical debt. Throughout this examine, the DoD printed a number of steerage paperwork that start to incorporate technical debt and technical debt administration as a necessary follow for profitable software program growth. Research suggestions embrace that the DoD should proceed to replace coverage/steerage and empower applications to include technical debt practices as a part of their software program growth actions whereas enabling analysis in improved device help and knowledge 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 determination makers, akin to technical leads and program managers, can assess the health of huge language fashions (LLMs) to deal with software program engineering and acquisition wants. They introduce exemplar situations in software program engineering and software program acquisition, and so they determine widespread archetypes. The authors additionally describe widespread issues involving using LLMs and enumerate techniques for mitigating these issues. Utilizing these widespread issues and techniques, the authors display how determination 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 growth of quantum computer systems continues to develop at a speedy tempo. The U.S. authorities alone spent greater than $800 million on quantum info 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 subject of cybersecurity for quantum computing. On this SEI podcast, Scanlon discusses how you can 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 submit, which offers a technical deep dive into this work.

Connecting Stakeholders for DoD Software program Techniques
By Hasan Yasar

The Deputy Secretary of Protection authorized 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 typically problem our capability to securely ship capabilities on time and on finances, fostering collaboration and facilitating open discussions about these challenges, strategizing, and devising actionable plans shall 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

• acquire an understanding for software program modernization technique
• uncover difficult areas for DoD weapon techniques
• observe and study enablers for fixing system complexity
• align your system’s targets along with your software program engineering practices
• acquire insights from key talks and periods

View the webcast.

Measuring the Trustworthiness of AI Techniques
By Katherine-Marie Robinson, Carol J. Smith, and Alexandrea Steiner

The flexibility of synthetic intelligence (AI) to associate with the software program engineer, physician, or warfighter relies on whether or not these finish customers belief the AI system to associate successfully with them and ship the result promised. To construct acceptable 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 how you can 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 submit, Contextualizing Finish-Person Wants: Measure the Trustworthiness of an AI System, by Carrie Gardner, Katherine-Marie Robinson, Carol J. Smith, and Alexandrea Steiner.