“Increasing software dependence presents enormous opportunities for the high integrity sector” – Interview with Paul Butcher, AdaCore

Posted on September 06, 2024

The High Integrity Software Conference (HISC) – brought to you by AdaCore and Capgemini – unites key figures in the software engineering community to share the insights, experience, and know-how that will help build the foundations of a trustworthy software ecosystem for the future.

With panels, exhibitions, and lightning talks from industry leaders, attendees will walk away with exclusive insights and important techniques applicable across industry sectors.

In this blog, Paul Butcher, UK Programme Manager, Head of Dynamic Analysis at AdaCore, and HISC Programme Committee member, shares his programme highlights and explains why the HISC is a must if you’re looking for an action-packed agenda, brand new connections, and professional growth.

"High Integrity Software" is the core theme of the conference. How will this focus address attendees’ biggest challenges and opportunities? Why is this theme so crucial in today’s technology landscape?

While safety remains the principal requirement, the biggest challenge in modern-day software development is ensuring systems are secure.

While once a niche sector within specific industries like rail, nuclear, defence, and aerospace, the need for safe and secure high integrity systems now extends to our everyday lives. Society's ever-increasing dependence on software is exponentially growing, presenting enormous opportunities for the high integrity sector, from everyday devices to national critical infrastructure.

Time after time, we're presented with countless examples of catastrophic software failures through age-old problems like unsafe memory instruction calls, and as we continue to march forward into a world of highly interconnected systems of systems the fallout from these incidents increases.

The High Integrity Software Conference is the perfect place to learn from the experience of like-minded professionals and gain insight into novel solutions for tackling these problems.

What is the most disruptive technology impacting your and/or your clients’ businesses at the moment? What can conference-goers expect to find in the programme on the topic?

The most disruptive technology impacting AdaCore's clients' businesses is the flow down of high-level requirements requiring memory-safe hardware and software. More specifically, in the US we're seeing White House reports mandating the need to demonstrate that a system is secure by design. Similar advisories are in place within the UK through the Digital Security by Design initiative.

Multiple talks within this year's conference will cover this topic, notably Professor John Goodacre's keynote talk: "Redesigning Cybersecurity for a Resilient Future" but also David Chisnall's talk "CHERIoT: Fearlessly reuse untrusted C code in embedded systems" and "Rust for Certifiable Software: Bridging Communities" by Jose Ruiz from AdaCore.

In what ways does the High Integrity Software Conference foster collaboration and networking among its attendees? Can you provide examples of past success stories or unique opportunities for professional growth that participants have experienced?

Since its inception, HISC has aimed to bring people from the high integrity software engineering and academia community together. The event's purpose has always been to discuss new ideas and foster new relationships. Every year I've attended, I've personally made multiple new connections, including many that have led to collaborative projects. Examples include creating new partnerships after demonstrating our CHERI technology at AdaCore's exhibitor booth.

In addition, before joining the HISC programme committee, I was lucky enough to give a talk at the conference on Fuzzing for Airworthiness Security. The opportunity helped raise my profile and was part of a series of events that resulted in my becoming AdaCore's Head of Dynamic Analysis earlier this year. If you work in High Integrity Software and are looking for an event to help with professional growth, I highly recommend attending HISC.

As a member of the program organisation committee, what are the key insights you expect attendees to take away from the event? And what are the most exciting slots on the agenda they won’t want to miss?

Two years ago, the demand for attendance was so high that we had to move to a new bigger venue. However, we still didn't anticipate the market, and for 2024, we're moving to the ICC Wales, a flagship conference centre that brings new opportunities to revamp the event.

For that reason alone, this year’s is one not to be missed!

If potential delegates need further convincing, just look at the programme. The 2024 HISC Call for Presentations was a massive success, with multiple high-quality abstracts submitted.

There are two standout keynotes attendees should head to. First, Rob Ashmore, Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Chief Technologist - Software, UK MOD, kicks off the programme with "Global Combat Air Programme Software: Challenges and Opportunities" and then Professor John Goodacre will speak about "Redesigning Cybersecurity for a Resilient Future". Later in the afternoon, Paul Caseley, Fellow Dstl, will return to give delegates insights into "Pointers to failing software projects", which is sure to be a popular choice.

However, with two parallel tracks spanning four topics, making up fourteen talks, a panel session, and lightning talks, HISC packs a lot into a single day and promises to provide something for everyone!

Register now for the High Integrity Software Conference (HISC).

Back for another year in a brand new, larger venue, the HISC will take place on Tuesday 22^nd October at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales.

In addition to sharing exclusive insights and opinions, cross-industry leaders will demonstrate state-of-the-art high assurance software throughout the conference exhibition space. Providing networking opportunities to form new collaborations and disseminate high integrity software-related research.

Register now to avoid disappointment.