Mathematically Formalized Assurance for National Security
The mission of the Mathematically Formalized Assurance for National Security (MFANS) alliance is to secure systems vital to national security using formal methods. Formal methods are techniques to model and analyze systems based on mathematical logic. MFANS aims to use formal methods to close the gap between model and implementation. Bridging this “model-implementation divide” improves the resiliency of critical systems against sophisticated adversaries. Additionally, it streamlines assurance and certification processes. MFANS’s approaches helps connect model specification, analysis, and validation to real systems faster. MFANS affiliates are working to improve system reliability and bolster national security through the precision of mathematics.
Why Formal Methods Matter
Formal methods are rigorous mathematical techniques used in the design, specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems. By leveraging mathematical logic and proof, formal methods provide a robust framework to ensure that software systems meet their desired properties of security, resilience and safety. This approach allows developers to detect and eliminate errors early in the design process, leading to highly reliable and trustworthy systems. Whether it’s verifying the correctness of algorithms or ensuring that safety-critical systems perform as expected under all conditions, formal methods offer a high assurance that the software behaves exactly as intended.
Model Checking
This technique involves exploring all possible states of a system model to verify properties like safety and liveness.
Theorem Proving
This approach uses mathematical proofs to verify that system adheres to its specifications.
Formal Specification Languages
Formal languages such as linear temporal logic are used to write formal specifications of systems.
Abstract Interpretation
This technique involves analyzing the behavior of programs by constructing abstract models of their possible executions.
- Rigorous specification: Formal methods provide precise and unambiguous specifications of system behavior, reducing the risk of security vulnerabilities due to misunderstandings or ambiguities in requirements.
- Verification of security properties: By proving that certain security properties – confidentiality, integrity and availability – hold, formal methods help ensure that systems are resistant to various types of attacks.
- Detection of vulnerabilities: Formal verification can identify vulnerabilities that might be missed by conventional testing, such as those resulting from complex interactions or edge cases.
- Fault tolerance: Formal methods can be used to prove that a system will continue to operate correctly even in the presence of certain faults or failures, enhancing its resilience.
- Recovery mechanisms: These methods can specify and verify the correctness of recovery mechanisms, ensuring that systems can recover gracefully from unexpected states or conditions.
- Dependability: By rigorously proving that systems meet their specifications, formal methods contribute to the overall dependability, ensuring that systems can be trusted to perform reliably under various conditions.
- Safety-critical systems: In domains such as aerospace, automotive, and health care, where system failures can result in catastrophic consequences, formal methods are essential for ensuring safety.
- Hazard analysis: Formal methods help in performing detailed hazard analysis, identifying potential sources of danger and proving that safety measures are effective.
- Regulatory compliance: Many safety-critical industries have stringent regulatory requirements. Formal methods can provide the necessary evidence to demonstrate compliance with these standards.
End-to-end encryption for cyber-physical systems using fully homomorphic encryption
The goal of this research is to thwart cyber adversaries to meaningful ends by integrating fully homomorphic encryption schemes into control systems. Fully homomorphic encryption secures data while preserving its utility, enabling privacy-preserving applications for sensitive data and functions. By developing a method to design and realize LWE-integrated control systems, we can achieve end-to-end encryption to thwart cyber adversaries to meaningful ends.
Why the MFANS alliance was formed
The Mathematically Formalized Assurance for National Security (MFANS) initiative was established with the aim of strengthening a burgeoning technical community within the federal research and development ecosystem. It is as a forum for engaging stakeholders in meaningful discussions about the triumphs, requirements, and hurdles, as well as the prospects of deploying assurance capabilities within security frameworks.
MFANS plays a crucial role in illuminating the existing applications and technical proficiencies, while also bringing to light the challenges faced in applying formalized assurance methods to national security systems. The initiative underscores the importance of robust, mathematically grounded strategies to ensure the integrity and safety of critical security operations, thereby contributing to the protection and advancement of national interests.
Via the MFANS alliance, Idaho National Laboratory seeks to build and sustain partnerships with academia, industry and other government entities to:
- Strengthen the national talent pipeline in applied formal methods
- Provide actionable, high impact research results to supply-chain vendors and asset owners and operators
- Increase capabilities to improve critical infrastructure security and resilience
Contact our team bellow if you are interested in learning more or want to join our MFANS Alliance.
Background: Alex Turner is an experienced system architecture engineer with over 15 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Holding a master's degree in aerospace engineering and several certifications in systems engineering, Alex has developed robust expertise in designing and integrating complex systems for aerospace applications. His educational background is complemented by years of hands-on experience working with both government and private aerospace projects, where he has been involved in everything from initial concept development to final system deployment.
Goals & and responsibilities: Alex aims to develop systems that push the boundaries of aerospace technology while ensuring the highest levels of safety and reliability. He is focused on integrating cutting-edge technologies to improve system efficiency and performance. Another key goal for Alex is to streamline the development process by incorporating advanced modeling and simulation tools, thereby reducing time-to-market and costs. In his role, Alex is primarily responsible for the overall design and integration of aerospace systems. This includes developing system architectures that meet stringent performance, safety and regulatory requirements. Alex is also tasked with evaluating new technologies and methodologies to enhance system performance and reliability. His responsibilities often involve overseeing the technical aspects of projects, including system simulations, risk assessments and ensuring design requirements and specifications are met.
Challenges: One of Alex's primary challenges is managing the complexity of aerospace systems, which often involve multiple subsystems with intricate interactions. Balancing performance, safety, and cost constraints while adhering to stringent regulatory standards can be particularly demanding.
How formal methods can help Alex: Formal methods can significantly aid Alex in overcoming the challenges he faces as a system architecture engineer in the aerospace industry by providing rigorous, mathematical frameworks for system design and verification. In the complex and safety-critical aerospace sector, where system failures can have catastrophic consequences, formal methods offer a way to ensure that system architectures meet all safety and reliability requirements through exhaustive proofs and model checking. By applying formal verification techniques, Alex can rigorously validate that his system designs adhere to the required specifications and regulatory standards, thus reducing the risk of errors and inconsistencies. Additionally, formal methods enable precise modeling of complex interactions between subsystems, facilitating the identification and resolution of potential issues early in the design process. This proactive approach helps Alex manage the intricate dependencies and performance constraints inherent in aerospace systems, ultimately leading to more reliable and robust designs. Moreover, the use of formal methods can streamline the development process by reducing the need for extensive testing and rework, as many issues are addressed during the design phase rather than during costly and time-consuming testing stages.
Background: Maria Gonzalez is a hardware design engineer with over 18 years of experience in the field. She holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from a top-tier university and has specialized in power systems throughout her career. Maria works for a leading engineering firm that designs and develops hardware for operational technology.
Goal and Responsibilities: Maria's primary goal is to design and develop reliable and efficient hardware solutions that ensure the stability and safety of power grids and generating stations. She is driven by the desire to contribute to the overall reliability of the power infrastructure’s reliability, which is critical to the functioning of society. In her role, she aims to innovate and integrate new technologies that can improve system performance and resilience. Her responsibilities involve analyzing and defining hardware requirements, designing and developing detailed circuit schematics and system models, and conducting rigorous simulations and physical tests to ensure functionality, performance, and reliability. She ensures that designs comply with industry standards and regulations with comprehensive documentation to support compliance with the standards and regulations.
Challenges: One of the main challenges Maria faces is primarily relates primarily to the her work’s critical nature of her work. Ensuring that the hardware’s functionality of the hardware aligns perfectly with design specifications and requirements is paramount, as any deviation can have significant repercussions for power grid stability and safety. He She must stay continually updated with the latest technological advancements and regulatory changes to incorporate them effectively into his her designs.
How formal methods can help Maria: Formal methods can significantly assist Maria in overcoming his her hardware design challenges by providing a rigorous framework for specifying, verifying, and validating hardware systems. These methods help ensure design correctness and functionality by using mathematical models to verify that the hardware meets all specifications and operates reliably. They enhance safety by identifying potential design flaws and unsafe conditions that traditional testing might miss. Formal methods also manage complexity by breaking down intricate designs into analyzable models, reduce testing overheads by catching errors early , and ensure compliance with industry standards through systematic proofs. Additionally, they facilitate innovation by ensuring new technologies integrate seamlessly and improve communication with stakeholders through clear and unambiguous specifications.
Deborah describes brand strategy as her perfect blend of critical thinking and collaborative research, one that encourages her natural love of questions and genuine interest in people.
Martijn joined the team in early 2015, after ten years working in the film industry. With a strong background for sales and marketing, Will was excited to bring a new perspective to the team.
Dominik has a passion for developing sites with clean, beautiful code. Dominik’s love for full-stack web development makes him a great asset that can take on back-end code and front-end UI needs if necessary.
Research
Current MFANS Members
