Inside Cybersecurity, October 13, 2020

By Sara Friedman

A recently issued policy for Defense Department acquisition officials provides an overview of how to purchase custom-built software from planning to execution, but a leading software trade association says the policy leaves room for interpretation on supply chain security and other issues that need to be addressed.

“We share the goal of the Defense Department to embrace modern software development and the policy is very useful for us and our members,” Tommy Ross, senior director of policy at BSA | The Software Alliance, told Inside Cybersecurity. “However, the pathway should not just be about developing software rapidly. It needs to also be about developing software that is secure.”

“Clearly, there is work that will need to be done to actually translate this guidance into practice,” Ross said. Directing acquisition officials to the BSA Framework for Secure Software, updated in September, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Secure Software Development Framework would help ground the policy in best practices, Ross said.

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Original Posting: https://insidecybersecurity.com/share/11715