The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in collaboration with all service branches of the Department of Defense, has launched the Resilient Software Systems Capstone program to address software vulnerabilities due to aging IT infrastructure and outdated security policies.
DARPA said Tuesday the Capstone program aims to develop resilient software to eliminate the vulnerabilities of legacy architectures and advanced weapon systems and safeguard critical infrastructure, military code and sensitive systems.
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Enhancing Weapon and Support Systems
The agency will work with the military branches to develop advanced software to reinforce the DOD’s systems against threats. It currently utilizes formal methods, or mathematically rigorous software development methods, to create tools. This approach tests the software for vulnerabilities before deployment, rather than the current testing method after it is built. This way, issues could be resolved early, so the software will perform as intended once deployed.
Air Force Leveraging Formal Methods
As part of the Capstone program, the U.S. Air Force will utilize formal methods in its MQ-9 Reaper program. The approach works to reduce the time needed to test and evaluate the software. Original equipment manufacturers and program offices typically use static code analysis tools to detect software stability issues and cyber vulnerabilities, which takes 12 to 18 months. To address this, the OEMS and program offices will now utilize software acceleration tools on existing code.
The other military branches will partner with DARPA on various projects intended to evaluate formal methods’ resilience, efficacy, cost, time and expertise on operational platforms. Each joint initiative, which will run for two years, aims to develop more secure software, fast-track the Authority to Operate process, optimize software developmental testing and establish a guide for broad adoption.
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