An Application of Automated Theorem Provers to Computer System Security: The Schematic Protection Model

Abstract

The Schematic Protection Model is specified in SAL and theorems about Take-Grant and New Technology File System schemes are proven. Arbitrary systems can be specified in SPM and analyzed. This is the first known automated analysis of SPM specifications in a theorem prover. The SPM specification was created in such a way that new specifications share the underlying framework and are configurable within the specifications file alone. This allows new specifications to be created with ease as demonstrated by the four unique models included within this document. This also allows future users to more easily specify models without recreating the framework. The built-in modules of SAL provided the needed support to make the model flexible and entities asynchronous. This flexibility allows for the number of entities to be dynamic and to meet the needs of different specifications. The models analyzed in this research demonstrate the validity of the specification and its application to real-world systems