Availability of protocol goals

  • Authors:
  • Giampaolo Bella

  • Affiliations:
  • University of Cambridge, UK

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 2003 ACM symposium on Applied computing
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

A new principle for prudent design of security protocols is developed to extend and complement the existing ones. Called goal availability, the principle requires that a given protocol goal be confirmed by a formal guarantee that the principals can invoke in practice. In consequence, the guarantees must be based on assumptions that the principals are able to verify. Analysing known protocols in the light of the new principle highlights unknown features. for example, an established BAN-logic claim is undermined, and some weaknesses of a modern smart card protocol are discovered. Our findings support the general claim that checking a protocol against goal availability helps discover unspotted lacks of explicitness in the protocol messages. The protocol analyses reported here are all machine assisted, but goal availability serves for protocol analysis in general.