The Beauty and the Beast: A survey on process algebras and cybersecurity

Abstract

Process algebras (PAs) provide the mathematical foundation for several verification techniques and have profoundly influenced many areas of computer science. One of the main reasons for their success is their compact yet expressive and flexible syntax, which allows for the modeling of the relevant aspects of computation while abstracting away the irrelevant ones. Cybersecurity is no exception, and most authors acknowledge the importance of PAs in this field. However, estimating the impact of PAs is not trivial.

In this survey, we consider lines of research that employ PAs to address security problems. Our systematization of knowledge aims to assess and measure the impact of PAs. To achieve this goal, we start by briefly reviewing the evolution of PAs. Then, we analyze the literature by mapping each contribution to three cybersecurity sub-fields: secure development, attack modeling, and vulnerability assessment. Our methodology follows the chronological development of process algebras and identifies the emerging features specifically introduced for dealing with security problems. Although our analysis confirms that PAs have been greatly influential in general, it provides a fine-grained understanding of how PAs have shaped research in cybersecurity. Interestingly, our work highlights that some application areas remain underexplored, thus providing the research community with valuable insights on future directions.