Software Insecurity

Software Insecurity
Outsourcing and defense fear of "foreign influence"
By Daniel G. Dupont

In February 2005 a group of Pentagon industry advisers warned that the "migration of critical microelectronics manufacturing" from the U.S. to other countries compromised national security. To ensure a steady supply of safe microchips, the Defense Science Board--which advises senior defense officials--recommended establishing "trusted foundries" to make critical hardware. But that is only part of the picture. According to the science board, any effort to improve the safety and supply of microchips would be of "limited utility" without a comparable focus on software--especially on what the Pentagon calls "foreign-influenced software."

The Department of Defense once created its own software, but today only the most highly classified code is written in-house, at places such as the secretive National Security Agency. But a good deal of code for some of the military's most sophisticated weapons--fighter aircraft and missile defense systems, for example--is written in other countries....

Micro technology that has made chips so dense opens the door to hidden hardware and/or hidden software. This is a user nightmare if you can't trust those involved in the design.
Just look at the Windows problems and it's easy to see that intentional tampering is more than probable. Note: I am not suggesting that the Windows issues may not be intentional either.

"But a good deal of code for some of the military's most sophisticated weapons--fighter aircraft and missile defense systems, for example--is written in other countries...."

Outsourcing is accelerating and broadening this trend.

Forget the military issues for a moment...what would happen if foreign interests could shut down our financial exchanges for an extended period?

The US needs to reverse course and make educating and rewarding native scientists, engineers and especially software developers a top national priority. The future of our country rides on technology more than any other single factor.

Think not? Where would the US have been without the top scientific team during WWII, to develop the atomic bomb? There are many upcoming technologies with just as grave implications. Do we really want India or China getting there first?

I've been around military software contractors for a long time, and I don't know of one case of foreign-written software, unless you count an American company in Germany using Americans to write software for a Germany-based US Army unit.

That of course would be consistent with the past experience. But what the Defense Science Board was warning of was that we are now on a slippery slope where there is 'foreign influence.' That is a deliberately vague statement on their part.

And we are already using the German-wrtten SAP software, and interestingly, using H-1Bs to assist with the 'implementation'.

The DSB is projecting ahead to a time when the microchip industry in the U.S. has collapsed to such an extent that, absent precautions, we will NEED to use foreign outsourced firms to get the "state of the art" chips required to stay an effective military. You are aware that vast numbers of other kinds of electronic componentry with an imploded U.S. manufacturing situation. Resistors, diodes, capacitors, power supplies, circuit boards, and on and on. When we invented, designed, and used to make it all. The private sector, no matter how competitive, absent other advantage-leveling actions by their own government, can't beat a foreign government intent on capturing these niches.

The DSB believes it possible the same situation will occur in software.

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