Software configuration as a political issue
Abstract
The two main ideas subject matter of this article were sustained by the author in his appearance before the Spanish Joint Commission of National Security of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, held in January 2019. The first idea refers to the necessity of the access to computer programs source code as a prerequisite for national security, since without access to the source code there is no cybersecurity. The second idea is a analytical framework proposal for technology inspired by the three semiotic layers: syntax, semantics and pragmatics (Morris, 1985). It is held that a smaller or larger number of futures will be possible depending on the layer in which a user can modify the technology. The implications of this idea are politically far-reaching in an age where organizations work within the possibilities offered by the software they use. The article also includes considerations on different aspects that were questioned by the members of the Commission to the speaker.
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