03.03.2026

About the Trustworthy Software Foundation

In 2020, the TSFdn became a subsiduary of the Institution of Analysts and Programmers. The current Chief Executive of the TSFdn is Alastair Revell, Director General of the IAP.

Virtually every aspect of our lives is touched by information technology. Our daily lives and industrial processes are now heavily reliant on a wide range of underpinning software. Yet the root cause of many problems is untrustworthy software. There is a pressing need to address the quality and robustness of our software and to establish its ‘trustworthiness’.

No software is perfect, and all software can fail or be hacked as a result of inherent bugs and vulnerabilities. Trustworthy software is software in which vulnerabilities have been reduced to an appropriate level.

As on their website the Trustworthy Software Foundation’s mission statement states: “The TSFdn aim to enhance the overall software and systems culture, with the objective that software should be designed, implemented and maintained in a trustworthy manner.” The TSFdn collect, organise and share the wealth of knowledge, experience and capabilities that already exist in the UK public and private sectors and in academia about trustworthy software to give people a joined-up, curated view of the information that is available.

What is Meant by Trustworthiness?

The TSFdn considers trustworthiness as comprising of five facets:

Safety: The ability of the software to operate without causing harm to anything or anyone.

Reliability: The ability of the software to operate correctly.

Availability: The ability of the software to operate when required.

Resilience: The ability of the software to recover from errors quickly and completely.

Security: The ability of the software to remain protected against the hazards posed by malware, hackers or accidental misuse.

More Information

Details about the IAP’s history and connection with the TSFdn are on our ASSOCIATE PARTNERS page: www.iap.org.uk/associate-partners.

There is an introduction to and Framework for the TSFdn along with resources and the latest news at: www.tsfdn.org.

To find out about the Advisory Committee on Trustworthy Software (ACTS) go to: www.acts-public/about. ACTS ensure a cross section of stakeholders are engaged with and offer input to help the TSFdn define it’s strategic direction.