A Technical Approach to the Digital Signature of MBSE Models

Abstract

To fully realize the benefits of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), users of an MBSE model need to be able to verify its authenticity and integrity. A digital signature is a common cryptographic technique that enables users to sign digital content and verify the integrity of the signed content. This enables users to verify that the signed content is truly from the author who signed the content and is a common practice in digital documentation. MBSE models have unique qualities that separate themselves from other digital documentation, thus specific digital signature approaches need to be implemented for MBSE models.

This paper describes an approach to apply digital signatures to MBSE models. The approach explores some characteristics of MBSE models and enables the digital signing of a portion of a model using a signer's digital certificate. The approach allows for the verification of the signed model content against the signature and indicates if information is altered from what the signer intended. This paper captures the technical challenges and lessons learned applying this approach as a prototype to an existing MBSE modeling tool. These findings from this paper can be used to guide the development of a digital signature capability in MBSE modeling tools.