Nonetheless the Bitcoin protocol is used for large transactions, even though it isn't recommended, and a complete failure could lead to loss of life or at the very least loss of property(duh!).
Any software that can lead to billions in losses should be considered safety-critical.
There is a lot of trust in society, usually people do not expect bad things to happen. This was the case with the Cyprus bank collapse/theft, this was the case with NASA rocket launch that killed the pilots, train crash in Spain, the financial crisis and many more. Yes people use Bitcoin for large transactions, but people also keep large amounts of money in online banks with security similar as MtGox
. For example, how do you know the money you put in your bank will not be stolen? People step in a car each morning expecting it will not crash. In life there are always risks, its something we have to live with (and prepare for).
Because Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer network and you control your money, the risks involved are different. There is no
single point of failure in terms of the network structure. Your car has a single point of failure: its engine. The bank is a single point of failure. With crypto-currency the risks are different.
In addition, how would you transfer 10.000.000 us dollar from Swiss to the US? Its logical that Bitcoin is used for large transfers, you can make payments 24/7, anywhere in the world, almost instantenously.
Do you know of any good scientific sources/papers to validate my assumption that using open source in safety-critical systems is crazy? Or isn't?
Many mission/safety critical systems use open source software. Not scientific papers, but still information:
http://gizmodo.com/the-iss-has-ditched-windows-entirely-for-linux-499593441https://www.suse.com/solutions/mission-critical-computing.htmlhttp://blogs.windriver.com/medical/2011/11/using-linux-in-medical-devices-what-developers-and-manufacturers-need-to-know.htmlProprietary software usually has a short development time, the developers have to work full days on the project, usually get very tired; There is a short time schedule to produce, the costs are high: office costs, tax, management, administration etc. In addition, how can you know (as an outsider) the code produced is safety-critical and not a sloppy mess if it is proprietary software? People's lives are at stake and open source can be a lot cheaper.
I'm having trouble finding good scientific articles on the topic though as I can't seem to find much on using open source and the agile development methods except a 2011 article on IGSTK (Image Guided Surgery ToolKit) which suggests it can be done...
Development methods for open source software depends. GNU/Linux, one of the biggest software project in the world communicates a lot trough a 'mailing list'. Whereas others prefer trough a chat protocol called IRC or forums. Usually in the corporate world they prefer face-to-face meetings with the development team.
You can find some bitcoin related papers here
http://arxiv.org/find/all/1/all:+bitcoin/0/1/0/all/0/1 or than the original bitcoin paper (link is on wikipedia). You may have access to ACM or IEEE database trough your university. Furthermore you may be interested in crypto-currency in general, which research dates back many years before bitcoin. There is also a recent MIT Bitcoin Expo 2014 video. Link and info on
bitprize.org Good luck with your thesis!
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) your in the office every day, computer shows error screens and you get headache.
