This volume contains the proceedings of SAFECOMP'97, the 16th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security, held in York, 7-10 September 1997. The papers presented here form a platform for technology transfer between academia, industry and research institutions. Topics included are: safe software; safety cases, management and development; security; human factors; guidelines, standards and certification; formal methods and models; applications and industrial experience; testing, validation and verification. SAFECOMP'97 will be of interest to all those in universities, research institutions, industry and business who want to be well-informed about the current international state of the art in computer safety, reliability and security. It provides a representative sample of recent research results and applications problems, presented by experts from both industry and academia.