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Vulnerability Webs: Systemic Risk in Software Networks

Cornelius Fritz, Co-Pierre Georg, Angelo Mele, Michael Schweinberger

arXiv 20 Feb 2024 · Econometrics · 1 citations (OpenAlex)

arXiv:2402.13375 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

Software development relies on code reuse to minimize costs, creating vulnerability risks through dependencies with substantial economic impact, as seen in the Crowdstrike and HeartBleed incidents. We analyze 52,897 dependencies across 16,102 Python repositories using a strategic network formation model incorporating observable and unobservable heterogeneity. Through variational approximation of conditional distributions, we demonstrate that dependency creation generates negative externalities. Vulnerability propagation, modeled as a contagion process, shows that popular protection heuristics are ineffective. AI-assisted coding, on the other hand, offers an effective alternative by enabling dependency replacement with in-house code.

Citation extraction

74
references
139
in-text mentions
74
distinct cited
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self-citations
13,763
main-text words

appendix boundary found by appendix_command · 82% of the source is main text. Read the extracted text to check this.

Most heavily cited references

The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.

ReferenceIntensityMentionsSectionsMain text
1Babkin, Stewart, Long \ Schweinberger (2020) `Large-scale estimation of random graph models with local dependence', Computational Statistics & Data Analysis 152, 1–191.000114100%
2Mele (2017) `A structural model of dense network formation', Econometrica 85(3), 825–850 self1.000103100%
3Vu, Hunter \ Schweinberger (2013) `Model-based clustering of large networks', The Annals of Applied Statistics 7(2), 1010 – 10391.00063100%
4Dahbura, Komatsu, Nishida \ Mele (2021) `A structural model of business cards exchange networks'0.8947471%
5Chandrasekhar (2016) Econometrics of network formation, in yann bramoulle, andrea galeotti \ brian rogers, eds, `Oxford handbook on the economics of…0.87452100%
6Mele (2022) `A structural model of homophily and clustering in social networks', Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 40(3), 1377–1389 self0.87452100%
7Schweinberger \ Handcock (2015) `Local dependence in random graph models: characterization, properties and statistical inference', Journal of the Royal Statisti…0.87452100%
8Boucher \ Mourifie (2017) `My friend far far away: A random field approach to exponential random graph models', Econometrics Journal 20(3), S14–S460.73732100%
9Martínez Dahbura, Komatsu, Nishida \ Mele (2023) `Homophily and community structure at scale: An application to a large professional network', AEA Papers and Proceedings 113, 15…0.73732100%
10Blume, Easley, Kleinberg, Kleinberg \ Tardo's (2013) `Network formation in the presence of contagious risk', ACM Transactions on Economics and Computation 1, 6:1–6:200.64422100%

Showing the top 10 of 74 scored citations.