Advanced tool for verification of security protocols
The AVISPA project focused on developing suitable technology that would allow the automated validation of Internet security protocols and applications. This technology can contribute to the development of the next generation of network protocols of improved security and enhanced public acceptance. Featuring easy protocol specification and automatic analysis, the robust tool technology could be adopted by industrial and academic parties as well as standardisation bodies. Among the project results is the CLATSE tool that uses constraint logic, robust simplification heuristics and redundancy elimination techniques for checking security protocols. More specifically, the tool transforms any security protocol specification written in the AVISPA's intermediate format into a set of constraints which allow identification of protocol attacks. The CLATSE tool provides translation and checking in a fully automatic way without any requirements on external help. The followed approach consists of modelling each protocol step using a set of minimal constraints on the adversary's knowledge. For instance, a forgery constraint for the attacker would be a message received by a trustworthy participant. Conditions, such as equality, inequality, element or non-element of a list also constitute constraints. Key advantages of the system include input treatment at outstanding speed, efficient protocol execution, user friendly (human-readable) output, easy handling of algebraic properties and rapid tool results. Built in a modular way the CLATSE tool can be easily extended to handle algebraic properties of cryptographic operators. It fully supports type-flaw detection and manages associations of message links. Further collaborations are sought with industrial partners and standardisation organisations engaged in protocol development or application. Academic partners interested in formal methods and automated reasoning for security protocols and applications could also be potential partners. For further information click at: http://www.avispa-project.org(opens in new window)
