Analysis of the Current State of Software Security Research and Preliminary Exploration of Future Trends

Software security refers to the engineering software practice which protects software systems from malicious attacks, unauthorized access, or other vulnerabilities. In the digital economy era, the pervasive integration of software into the physical world and human society presents significant security challenges, as it increases the potential attack surface for malicious actors. As software continues to pervade every aspect of modern life, ensuring its security has become a critical concern, addressing vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers and safeguarding sensitive information. Software security concerns national infrastructure security, cyberspace security, data security, and information security, all of which are vital to national welfare. This article studies the current state of software security engineering with respect to the three major threats it is facing: malicious code, vulnerability discovery and analysis, and reverse engineering technology. It also analyzes the challenges and prospective development of software security.