Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, hosted SAFECOMP 2003. Since its establishment, SAFECOMP, the series of conferences on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security, has contributed to the progress of the state of the art in dependable applications of computer systems. SAFECOMP provides ample opportunity to exchange insights and experiences in emerging methods across the borders of different disciplines. SAFECOMP year after year registers new multidisciplinary trends on dependability of computer-based systems. The cross-fertilization between different scientific communities and industry supports...

The European Commission emphasizes, in its Fifth Research Framework, the ." . . emerging generic dependability requirements in the information society, stemming both from the ubiquity and volume of embedded and networked systems and services as well as from the global and complex nature of large scale information and communication infrastructures, from citizens, administrations and business in terms of technologies, tools, systems, applications and services." The series of Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability, and Security (Safecomp) contributes to satisfy these requirements by...