Maintaining Security in Software Evolution

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce a three-layered framework for maintaining security in software evolution at design time and run time. Additionally, we present a suite of five approaches that employ the framework. Two approaches focus on design-time use of knowledge extracted from natural-language documents to identify potential steps for co-evolving the system’s design and on integrating architecture model information with program code. A third approach bridges design time and run time to support architects as the software evolves. The two remaining approaches focus on run-time security maintenance. The fourth approach monitors run-time information in order to detect suspicious behaviour, which is reacted to automatically by adapting the system with mitigation, while the fifth approach focuses on interdisciplinary changes in automation software. In combination, the approaches address current challenges for security maintenance at design time and run time.