The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a new report that includes strategies to reduce bugs in software.NIST said Monday the 60-page Dramatically Reducing Software Vulnerabilities report includes input from software experts in the computer industry and government entities such as the Defense Department and NASA.
Paul Black, an NIST computer scientist, said the report is a response to a request for methods from the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and is designed to help organizations write low-defect computer code.
The report recommends for coders to use math-based tools to confirm whether the code will work; break up a computer’s programs into modular parts to prevent a total program crash; and connect analysis tools for code that operate in isolation.
The document’s main approaches also include application of appropriate programming languages for the task that the code aims to perform as well as the development of evolving tactics to protect codes against cyberattacks.
NIST noted the publication also includes recommendations on where and how to use the techniques and suggests that the approaches be applied during software development.
