A construction kit for modeling the security of M-commerce applications

Abstract

In this article we present a method to avoid security problems in modern m-commerce applications. The security problems that we are addressing are breaches of security due to erroneous cryptographic protocols. We describe a specification technique that gives way to a formal, and thereby rigorous, treatment of the security protocols used hi such applications. Security of communication is important in modern m-commerce applications. As parts of the specification of the security protocols, we describe how to specify the behavior of the agents, how to specify the attacker and how further aspects of the application reflect in the formal specification. The problem is that such formal specifications are difficult to get right, so we propose a construction kit for their development. © Springer-Verlag 2004.