Probability distributions over cryptographic protocols

• Main Author: Skaff, Stephanie J. C.
• Other Authors: Herzog, Jonathan
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/4744

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited === This study examines the problem of assuring correct functionality of cryptographic protocol verifiers. As a replacement for manual input of well-known protocols, we propose the creation of a random protocol generator capable of producing protocols of varying degrees of correctness. This generator would be verifier-independent, and the protocols translated into verifier languages as required. This would automate not only the creation of protocols, but eliminate the variability both in translation quality and in the resulting body of tests. To this end, we propose a common definition for cryptographic protocols, develop multiple probability distributions over this definition, and implement a generator that uses these distributions. As a proof of concept, we translate protocols created by the generator into a suitable format for the Cryptographic Protocol Shapes Analyzer.