System Depandability and the Future - INFOSAM2020

This paper discusses the trends expected with respect to system dependability towards 2020. System dependability is trying to answer an important question, namely: "how can we make the computer systems and communication networks that we increasingly rely on more dependable?" Our lives have become critically dependent on the correct operation of these systems as we surf the web, fly in airplanes, drive our cars, manage our finances, and even heat our homes. The traditional concerns of the dependability community (e.g., inadvertent faults, errors, and failures) have now been enlarged by the massive connectivity provided by the Internet to include malicious exploitation of imperfect systems and networks, and intentional cyber-attacks on them. How can we build systems that are not vulnerable to such threats, systems that users can depend upon in transportation, financial, and e-commerce sectors?