Using Program Comprehension Techniques for Syntax Testing of Network Protocols
Dr. Thomas Dean (Queen's University)
ABSTRACT
Application protocols have become sophisticated enough that they have
become
languages in their own right. At the best of times, these protocols are
difficult to implement correctly. Traditional conformance testing of
these
implementations does not reveal many security vulnerabilities. In this
talk
we describe ongoing research where software transformation and program
comprehension
techniques are used to to assist in the security testing of network
applications.
We capture a live, valid, protocol data unit, generate modified mutants
and inject
the mutants back into the network to see if the network application
survives.
Language Comprehension techniques are used to analyze the network
protocol syntax
and identify features of the network protocol that are most likely to
be implemented
incorrectly. Source transformation techniques adapted from the program
comprehension
community are used to use the analysis to generate the mutant packets.
BIOGRAPHY
Thomas Dean is an Assistant Professor in the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen's University
and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Royal Military College
of Kingston. His background includes research in Air Traffic Control
systems, language formalization and 5 1/2 years as a Sr. Research
Scientist at Legasys Corporation where he worked on advanced
software transformation and evolution techniques in an industrial
setting. His current research interests are software transformation,
the security of network applications and web site evolution.