A formal foundation for security architecture. Security of computer systems is essential for the maintenance of privacy, confidentiality and integrity of personal, commercial and government data, and the trustworthiness of the computational devices that are embedded in critical societal infrastructure. However, current theoretical understanding of secure systems development is poor. The project will develop our understanding of an emerging approach to the design of secure systems and develop ver ....A formal foundation for security architecture. Security of computer systems is essential for the maintenance of privacy, confidentiality and integrity of personal, commercial and government data, and the trustworthiness of the computational devices that are embedded in critical societal infrastructure. However, current theoretical understanding of secure systems development is poor. The project will develop our understanding of an emerging approach to the design of secure systems and develop verification methods that may be applied to guarantee systems security. Its outcomes will contribute to processes for certifying systems at very high levels of security, a requirement in defence and government settings that will become increasingly significant in the commercial sector.Read moreRead less
The architecture of networks: Characterisation and visualisation of complex systems as fluctuating networks. Complex systems comprise many mutually interacting components, characterised by a range of different interactions over time and space. They are dynamical systems, whose features are reminiscent of a web, with fluctuating links of varying strengths. The natural paradigm for such systems is a generic network, or a graph. A suite of novel measures from statistical physics, graph theory, top ....The architecture of networks: Characterisation and visualisation of complex systems as fluctuating networks. Complex systems comprise many mutually interacting components, characterised by a range of different interactions over time and space. They are dynamical systems, whose features are reminiscent of a web, with fluctuating links of varying strengths. The natural paradigm for such systems is a generic network, or a graph. A suite of novel measures from statistical physics, graph theory, topology, geometry, and computer graphics will be developed to characterise system/graph growth and stability. The aim is two-fold: first to reduce real complex systems (mainly financial systems) to computationally manageable structures (including direct visualisation) and second to construct realistic models of the evolution of such systems.Read moreRead less
Implementing Feferman-Landin Logic. The objective of this project is to utilise computer based verification tools (such as PVS and Rewritting Logic) to develop a software engineering environment for specifying and verifying systems written in high-level programming languages such as Java, Scheme, and ML. The project will thus subtantially advance the use of formal computer based tools to develop reliable programs and specifications for life-critical systems. The project will also develop form ....Implementing Feferman-Landin Logic. The objective of this project is to utilise computer based verification tools (such as PVS and Rewritting Logic) to develop a software engineering environment for specifying and verifying systems written in high-level programming languages such as Java, Scheme, and ML. The project will thus subtantially advance the use of formal computer based tools to develop reliable programs and specifications for life-critical systems. The project will also develop formally
based interoperability between the PVS and Maude systems, two widely
used computer tools for reasoning about complex systems.Read moreRead less
Proof Theoretical Methods for Reasoning about Process Equivalence. The emergence of internet commerce has made the issue of secure computing more urgent than ever. A substantial part of the security issues with today's computer applications are due to design problems.
The principles of secure computation have not been fully understood and adequate tools for the construction of secure applications are still lacking. The understanding of the foundations of secure computation is essential in bu ....Proof Theoretical Methods for Reasoning about Process Equivalence. The emergence of internet commerce has made the issue of secure computing more urgent than ever. A substantial part of the security issues with today's computer applications are due to design problems.
The principles of secure computation have not been fully understood and adequate tools for the construction of secure applications are still lacking. The understanding of the foundations of secure computation is essential in building trusted computer applications. Process calculi and logic represent two promising disciplines in which the principles of analysis and design of secure systems can be studied systematically, out of which formal verification tools can be constructed.Read moreRead less
Refinement of Temporal and Epistemic Specifications in Asynchronous Systems. Designing distributed systems is a complex activity requiring rigorous mathematical models of designs and specifications. It is desirable for the mathematical notations to be as close as possible to intuitive notions used by designers. One such notion is the idea that components in a distributed system have states of knowledge. Previous work has developed a calculus enabling derivation of systems with global clock by s ....Refinement of Temporal and Epistemic Specifications in Asynchronous Systems. Designing distributed systems is a complex activity requiring rigorous mathematical models of designs and specifications. It is desirable for the mathematical notations to be as close as possible to intuitive notions used by designers. One such notion is the idea that components in a distributed system have states of knowledge. Previous work has developed a calculus enabling derivation of systems with global clock by series of correctness-preserving transformations from a knowledge-based specification. This project will generalize this work to a calculus for systems that lack a global clock, and implement a tool providing automated support for use of the calculus.Read moreRead less
Foundations of Executable Temporal Logic. In many computer applications, including those of temporal reasoning, distributed computations and knowledge representations, the concept of time is of central importance. Multiple granularity of time also plays a critical role as not all events are necessarily defined over a uniform model of time. This project will develop the foundations of executable logical representations, supporting multiple granularity of time. This will allow system developers a ....Foundations of Executable Temporal Logic. In many computer applications, including those of temporal reasoning, distributed computations and knowledge representations, the concept of time is of central importance. Multiple granularity of time also plays a critical role as not all events are necessarily defined over a uniform model of time. This project will develop the foundations of executable logical representations, supporting multiple granularity of time. This will allow system developers access to powerful logical techniques in those applications. In the process, fundamental problems in modelling multiple granularity of time will be identified, and application-independent solutions to those problems will be provided.Read moreRead less
Expressive power and complexity of temporal logics for model-checking. Hardware verification based upon mathematical logic is now routinely
used in industry to verify the correctness of large digital circuits
using a technique called model-checking. Such discrete systems move
from one state to another according to the regular ticks of a clock.
The challenge now is to find tractable methods for reasoning about
real-time systems and hybrid systems that move in a continuous manner
with respec ....Expressive power and complexity of temporal logics for model-checking. Hardware verification based upon mathematical logic is now routinely
used in industry to verify the correctness of large digital circuits
using a technique called model-checking. Such discrete systems move
from one state to another according to the regular ticks of a clock.
The challenge now is to find tractable methods for reasoning about
real-time systems and hybrid systems that move in a continuous manner
with respect to time: examples include aeroplanes flying according to
the laws of physics and a moving robot arm. We shall invent new logics
which are specifically tailored for tractable reasoning about
real-time and hybrid systems.Read moreRead less
Economical and practical design and analysis of probabilistic distributed systems. Complex computing systems composed of communicating processes are
distributed over networks, and interact with embedded hardware
components. They routinely operate in probabilistic environments:
hardware components fail randomly, but at known rates; and tactical
randomisation resolves competition for resources. Effective
specification, development and analysis methods for these systems
is crucial, and probab ....Economical and practical design and analysis of probabilistic distributed systems. Complex computing systems composed of communicating processes are
distributed over networks, and interact with embedded hardware
components. They routinely operate in probabilistic environments:
hardware components fail randomly, but at known rates; and tactical
randomisation resolves competition for resources. Effective
specification, development and analysis methods for these systems
is crucial, and probability makes that particularly difficult.
The focus of this project is to develop new formal methods that are
economical and practical in use. Exploiting our recent advances in
probabilistic program semantics, we will add probability in a new
way to proven techniques in concurrency theory, including
refinement and hierarchical design.Read moreRead less
Algebraic reasoning for serialisability in probabilistic transaction systems. The ability to analyse complex systems is a vital part of the development of large-scale computer applications; a method that improves the quality of the analysis task would increase the competitiveness of the software industry, would attract future development work (in complex and intelligent systems) to Australia, and could contribute to national security.
The results of this project will have a direct influence ....Algebraic reasoning for serialisability in probabilistic transaction systems. The ability to analyse complex systems is a vital part of the development of large-scale computer applications; a method that improves the quality of the analysis task would increase the competitiveness of the software industry, would attract future development work (in complex and intelligent systems) to Australia, and could contribute to national security.
The results of this project will have a direct influence on currently available design tools; the fact that Australian institutions will be responsible for key theoretical results in this growing field will strengthen Australia's position worldwide as an international centre for computer science.Read moreRead less
Hidden-state modelling for modular analysis of information flow, protection and risk evaluation. Automation is increasing explosively, and the cliche is no longer that there is a cpu chip in your washing machine, television or automobile. Nowadays they are potentially in our cash cards, passports and soon on every item in our shopping baskets. Australia is a leader in adopting and developing such technology.
Security and privacy, hard enough for PCs, thus concerns smaller, more numerous devi ....Hidden-state modelling for modular analysis of information flow, protection and risk evaluation. Automation is increasing explosively, and the cliche is no longer that there is a cpu chip in your washing machine, television or automobile. Nowadays they are potentially in our cash cards, passports and soon on every item in our shopping baskets. Australia is a leader in adopting and developing such technology.
Security and privacy, hard enough for PCs, thus concerns smaller, more numerous devices that we might not even realise we are using.
Our research aims to make it easier and more effective to describe and then successfully build-in features that enforce security without adverse impact on usability.Read moreRead less