Computer Language Choices in Arms Control and Nonproliferation Regimes

Conference · Fri Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2005

OSTI ID:881882

White, G K

The U.S. and Russian Federation continue to make substantive progress in the arms control and nonproliferation transparency regimes. We are moving toward an implementation choice for creating radiation measurement systems that are transparent in both their design and in their implementation. In particular, the choice of a programming language to write software for such regimes can decrease or significantly increase the costs of authentication. In this paper, we compare procedural languages with object-oriented languages. In particular, we examine the C and C++ languages; we compare language features, code generation, implementation details, and executable size and demonstrate how these attributes aid or hinder authentication and backdoor threats. We show that programs in lower level, procedural languages are more easily authenticated than are object-oriented ones. Potential tools and methods for authentication are covered. Possible mitigations are suggested for using object-oriented programming languages.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 881882
• Report Number(s): UCRL-CONF-212857; TRN: US0603028
• Resource Relation: Conference: Presented at: 46th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, Phoenix, AZ, United States, Jul 10 - Jul 14, 2005
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
ARMS CONTROL
DESIGN
IMPLEMENTATION
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
PROLIFERATION
RADIATIONS
RUSSIAN FEDERATION