Untested software threatens infrastructures

The public needs access to information infrastructures that are reliable, secure, noninterruptible, and fault-tolerant, but the transition to paperless commerce threatens individual privacy with each transaction. Wholesale payment systems, such as the United States Federal Reserve's FedWire and automated clearing houses, move trillions of dollars over electronic networks daily. With roughly 95 percent of Defense Department communications relying on the commercial infrastructure, the US government is a major stakeholder in the security of commercial systems. The paper discusses the importance of software testing and the assessment of software liabilities.