US Military uses AI to translate old C code to Rust
By MYBRANDBOOK
TRACTOR (Translating All C to Rust) is an initiative of DARPA, the research arm of the US Department of Defence, to translate legacy C code into Rust. The goal of this AI-driven project is to strengthen memory safety and fix bugs like buffer overflows that affect huge codebases. Improving memory safety in crucial systems is the aim.
C, while powerful, is notorious for its vulnerability to memory safety issues. This vulnerability opens the door for hackers to exploit software flaws, leading to security breaches. Rust, on the other hand, is designed with memory safety in mind, making it less susceptible to these attacks. DARPA hopes that by automating the translation process, they can drastically improve the security of critical software systems. Large language models (LLMs) and other machine learning techniques are being considered to achieve this goal.
In recent years, tech giants like Google and Microsoft have underscored the problems caused by memory safety bugs. They have advocated for programming languages other than C and C++ that don't necessitate manual memory management. This advocacy has resonated with the public sector, which houses a significant amount of legacy code. As a result, entities such as the White House and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are promoting memory safe programming languages like Rust.
Despite opposition from those involved with C and C++ oversight, who argue that diligent application of ISO standards and testing tools can achieve comparable results without resorting to Rust, DARPA remains steadfast. The agency maintains that relying solely on bug-finding tools is insufficient. After more than 20 years of grappling with memory safety issues in C and C++, there is a consensus within the software engineering community about the need for more secure software.
DARPA's program manager for TRACTOR, Dan Wallach, explained the process of using the tool. Users can visit any of the LLM websites and interact with an AI chatbot to request a code translation. Wallach stated, "here's some C code, please translate it to safe idiomatic Rust code," indicating that users simply need to paste their C code and wait for the translated Rust output. The challenge lies in improving this automated translation process from C to Rust.
Rust, first released stably in 2015, has built-in memory safety and is suitable for low-level, performance-sensitive systems programming. Its characteristics and popularity have spurred initiatives like Prossimo, a non-profit Internet Research Group's project to rewrite critical libraries and code in Rust to mitigate security risks. Josh Aas, Executive Director of the Prossimo project, noted that the large amount of C code running in today's internet infrastructure makes translation tools attractive.
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