Towards a formal framework for evaluating the effectiveness of system diversity when applied to security

Abstract

N-version programming has been shown to be an effective way to increase the reliability of systems. In this study, we examine the possibility of extending this approach to address security, rather than reliability concerns. We focus specifically on how to evaluate the efficiency of the use of diversity for security. We show that while several key elements must be taken into account when N-version programming is used for security rather than reliability, it is nonetheless possible to devise a reasoning framework to evaluate the efficiency of this development paradigm in a security context. This framework allows us to reason about the most effective way to use diversity for security.

Are Backdoor Mandates Ethical?—A Position Paper

“…slightly from that of every other user [13], [10]. Researchers have even likened the current software environment as a monoculture in which a single malware can potentially infect every software instance.…”