Software is becoming the foundation of civilization; yet few, if any industries composing national infrastructures enjoy such little oversight as software production. Despite general agreement on inadequate software development practices and the enormous cost born by individuals and organizations for protecting their systems from exploitation, the software industry enjoys remarkable insulation from liability and regulation. This is a dangerous proposition for national infrastructures. David Rice illuminates the economic impacts of poor quality software and compares regulatory standards among various industries as he challenges software purchasers to demand better quality software so that governments, faced with a popular uprising, will refuse to remain silent on the issue. Software is becoming the foundation of civilization and therefore demands the time and attention foundations deserve.