BUGS FOR SALE: LEGAL AND ETHICAL PROPRIETIES OF THE MARKET IN SOFTWARE VULNERABILITIES

摘要

In general terms, software is the programs on which a computer system is run.~1 However, in specific terms, there are two notional definitions of software: the first conceptualizes software as the intangible functional components of a computer, inclusive of computer programs and data intended to be processed by the programs.~2 The second definition clearly excludes data, and conceives software as "a list of commands and instructions for data-processing."~3 Structurally, software typically exists in two forms: the source code and the machine readable binary code.~4 The source code is the program's logical structure, comprising the commands and instructions written in a specific programming language that is intelligible and accessible.~5 The source code then morphs into a machine readable-only form known as the binary or object code to facilitate program execution by the computer.~6