Draft:Software understanding gap
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The software understanding gap is the disparity between how much organizations depend on software-controlled systems and their ability to assess and verify the behavior of that software. In January 2025 the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), DARPA, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E) and the National Security Agency (NSA) published a joint report, Closing the Software Understanding Gap, that used the term and called for a "deep, scalable understanding of software-controlled systems" as a matter of United States national security.[1][2]
Background
Research on how developers comprehend existing source code dates back decades under the heading of program comprehension. The 2025 report describes the problem at the level of organizations and states rather than individual developers. According to the report, mission owners and operators lack adequate capabilities for software understanding because manufacturers build software that "greatly outstrips the ability to understand it", which in turn contributes to exploited vulnerabilities.[2]
CISA technical director Chris Butera cited discoveries of state-sponsored activity in US critical infrastructure, primarily in the communications, energy, transportation systems, and water and wastewater sectors, and said the software understanding gap exacerbates that risk.[2][3]
2025 joint report
The report argues that software-controlled systems should be assessable so that functionality, safety and security can be verified across all operating conditions, and states that this capability does not currently exist. It recommends a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to build it.[1][2]
One approach the report points to is formal methods. DARPA's Information Innovation Office director Kathleen Fisher said existing tools could already reduce the number of software vulnerabilities substantially if applied to legacy and future systems.[2] The report's recommendations also cover systems that incorporate artificial intelligence.[4]
Reception
CyberScoop and Dark Reading covered the publication and connected it to CISA's secure-by-design initiative.[3][5] The NSA published a parallel press release recommending capabilities to evaluate software behavior before deployment in critical systems.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Closing the Software Understanding Gap" (PDF). Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, National Security Agency. January 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "CISA Calls For Action to Close the Software Understanding Gap". Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ^ a b "Closing software-understanding gap is critical to national security, CISA says". CyberScoop. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ^ "Closing the software understanding gap". DARPA. January 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ^ "CISA Calls For Action to Close the Software Understanding Gap". Dark Reading. January 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ^ "NSA Jointly Releases Recommendations for Closing the Software Understanding Gap". National Security Agency. January 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
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