SCSC.uk logo
SCSC.uk logo
Log inRegister
1
SCSC Publications
SCSC Publications
Log inRegister
1

Log in to SCSC.uk

Please log in using either your email address or your membership number.

New user?
Register on SCSC.uk
Forgot password?
Request a reset

Register on SCSC.uk

Please register with your name, email address, password and email preferences. You will be sent an email to verify the address.

   No thanks
   No thanks

Reset your password

Please enter the email address used for your account. A temporary password will be emailed to you.

The SCSC publishes a range of documents:

Newsletter

The club publishes its newsletter Safety Systems three times a year in February, June and October.  The newsletter is distributed to paid-up members and can be made available in electronic form for inclusion on corporate members' intranet sites.

Symposium proceedings

The proceedings of the annual symposium, held each February since 1993, are published in book form. Since 2013 copies can be purchased from Amazon.

Safety-Critical Systems eJournal

The club publishes the Safety-critical Systems eJournal (ISSN 2754-1118) containing high-quality, peer-reviewed articles on the subject of systems safety.
 If you are interested in being an author or a reviewer please see the Call for Papers.

All publications are available to download free by current SCSC members (please log in first), recent books are available as 'print on demand' from Amazon at reasonable cost.

All PublicationsPage

Jan 2022
[SCSC-174] Safety-Critical Systems eJournal vol.1 no.1
 Journal cover image
The launch issue of the Safety-Critical Systems eJournal
Edited by John Spriggs
Ref: ISSN 2754-1118
Publisher: Safety-Critical Systems Club
Welcome to the First Issue of a New Journal! 
Welcome to the launch issue of the Safety-Critical Systems eJournal, which is published by  …   

Welcome to the First Issue of a New Journal!

 

Welcome to the launch issue of the Safety-Critical Systems eJournal, which is published by the Safety Critical Systems Club, a UK Community Interest Company. Our mission is, “To publish high-quality, peer-reviewed articles on the subject of systems safety”. By systems, we mean not only the platforms, but also the people and their procedures that make up the whole. Systems safety addresses those systems, their components, and the services they are used to provide. We do not have a narrow view of system safety, however; our scope is wide, and includes safety-related topics such as resilience, security, public health, and environmental impact..

John Spriggs SCSC eJournal Editor
john.spriggs@scsc.uk

  
Download:

Contents

Editorial: - John Spriggs
Paper: Generic Assurance Topics for Any Type of Programmable Content - Rob Ashmore and James Sharp
An ever-growing range of technologies can be used to implement programmable content. Examples include highly complex System-On-Chip designs, which  …    An ever-growing range of technologies can be used to implement programmable content. Examples include highly complex System-On-Chip designs, which use traditional electronics, as well as approaches based on quantum technologies and biological systems. Standards and guidance are required to support the safe use of these, and other, emerging programmable technologies. However, technology-specific guidance is challenging to produce, especially in a timely manner. To help bridge this gap, we propose a set of generic assurance topics, which are applicable to all types of programmable content, introducing considerations based on the assurance of both a program, and the associated substrate. The topics are initially introduced by considering multi-core processors. Their application to alternate technologies is illustrated by considering electronic hardware tailored for machine learning, quantum computing and computation using a bio-based substrate.  
Paper: Software Reliability and the Misuse of Statistics - Dewi Daniels, and Nicholas (Nick) Tudor
Many papers have been written on software reliability. The claim is made that failures of software-based systems occur randomly and that statistical  …    Many papers have been written on software reliability. The claim is made that failures of software-based systems occur randomly and that statistical techniques used to predict random hardware failure rates can also be used to predict software failure rates. This claim has not been challenged in any academic papers, though it is treated with suspicion by many practising engineers. As a result, the applicability of these statistical techniques has been accepted in some standards, such as IEC 61508, but has been rejected in others, such as RTCA/DO-178C. It is more important than ever to understand whether this claim is true. There is strong lobbying from industry to allow software not developed to any standard to be used for safety critical applications provided it has sufficient product service history. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is promoting dissimilar software in the belief that using two or more independent software teams will deliver ultra-high levels of software reliability. Software defects are different from random hardware failures and need to be treated differently. This paper argues that the techniques used for statistical evaluation of software make unwarranted assumptions about software and lead to overly optimistic predictions of “software failure rates”. This paper concludes that many software reliability models do not provide results in which confidence can be placed. Instead, this paper proposes an alternative way forward that does provide evidence that software is safe for its intended use before it enters service.  
Paper: ‘til the Next Zero-Day Comes
Ransomware, Countermeasures, and the Risks They Pose to Safety - Bruce Hunter
Cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure are not new, but their recent intensity has increased the risk of intended or unintended consequences to  …    Cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure are not new, but their recent intensity has increased the risk of intended or unintended consequences to safety systems to become a real and present danger. Ransom use of malware attacks have mainly concentrated on business systems, by denying access to essential data, but recent attacks have affected critical infrastructure with consequential shutdown of operation-al technology including safety-related functions. Although ransomware may intentionally cause dangerous failures in the system, pervasive connectivity raises the risks of this happening. This article discusses the precursors to this danger as part of Information Technology and Operational Technology convergence, integration of business and control systems, conflicts arising out of this integration and monetarisation of vulnerability exploitation. Although using Industrial Control System examples are used, safety practitioners may use these to mitigate cybersecurity threats and minimise the impact of attacks on all safety-related systems and their recovery.  
Jan 2022
This resource is superseded by: [SCSC-156D]
Oct 2021
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 29, Numbers 1-3
Oct 2021
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 29, Number 3
Aug 2021
Version 1 of the Assurance Case Guidance "Challenges, Common Issues and Good Practice"
Jul 2021
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 28, Numbers 1-3
May 2021
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 29, Number 2
May 2021
Version 3 of the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) Standard.
Feb 2021
Proceedings of the Twenty-ninth Safety-Critical Systems Symposium.
Feb 2021
by the SCSC Data Safety Initiative Working Group [DSIWG]
This resource is superseded by: [SCSC-127I]
Feb 2021
This resource is superseded by: [SCSC-156D]
Feb 2021
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 29, Number 1
Oct 2020
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 28, Number 3
May 2020
The Safety-Critical Systems Club Newsletter, Volume 28, Number 2