Attack analysis of cryptographic protocols using strand spaces

Network security protocols make use of cryptographic techniques to achieve goals such as confidentiality, authentication, integrity and non-repudiation. However, the fact that strong cryptographic algorithms exist does not guarantee the security of a communications system. In fact, it is recognised that the engineering of security protocols is a very challenging task, since protocols that appear secure can contain subtle flaws and vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. A number of techniques exist for the analysis of security protocol specifications. Each of the techniques currently available is not capable of detecting every possible flaw or attack against a protocol when used in isolation. However, when combined, these techniques all complement each other and allow a protocol engineer to obtain a more accurate overview of the security of a protocol that is being designed. This fact, amongst others, is the rationale for multi-dimensional security protocol engineering, a concept introduced by previous projects in the DNA group. We propose an attack construction approach to security protocol analysis within a multi-dimensional context. This analysis method complements the method used in the existing inference construction analysis tools developed earlier in the group. This paper gives a brief overview of the concepts associated with our project, including a summary of existing security protocol analysis techniques, and a description of the strand space model, which is the intended formalism for the analysis.