Ordering from Satan's menu: a survey of requirements specification for formal analysis of cryptographic protocols

Abstract

The application of formal methods to cryptographic protocol analysis has been a growth area recently. Most of the attention has been paid to the design of languages for the specification of cryptographic protocols and algorithms for evaluating their security. However, the ability to specify their desired behavior correctly is also important; indeed many perceived protocol flaws arise out of a misunderstanding of the protocol's requirements. In this paper, we give a survey of research in requirements specification for formal analysis of cryptographic protocols. We start with a brief history of the use of requirements specification for cryptographic protocols. We then outline some of the main current trends and areas of research. We conclude with a discussion of some open problems.