The Object Management Group's (OMG) Model Driven Architecture (MDA) strategy envisages a world where models play a more direct role in software production, being amenable to manipulation and transformation by machine. Model Driven Engineering (MDE) is wider in scope than MDA. MDE combines process and analysis with architecture. This article sets out a framework for model driven engineering, which can be used as a point of reference for activity in this area. It proposes an organisation of the modelling 'space' and how to locate models in that space. It discusses different kinds of mappings between models. It explains why process and architecture are tightly connected. It discusses the importance and nature of tools. It identifies the need for defining families of languages and transformations, and for developing techniques for generating/configuring tools from such definitions. It concludes with a call to align metamodelling with formal language engineering techniques.

Model Driven Engineering

An attack graph is a succinct representation of all paths through a system that end in a state where an intruder has successfully achieved his goal. Today Red Teams determine the vulnerability of networked systems by drawing gigantic attack graphs by hand. Constructing attack graphs by hand is tedious, error-prone, and impractical for large systems. By viewing an attack as a violation of a safety property, we can use off-the-shelf model checking technology to produce attack graphs automatically: a successful path from the intruder's viewpoint is a counterexample produced by the model checker In this paper we present an algorithm for generating attack graphs using model checking as a subroutine. Security analysts use attack graphs for detection, defense and forensics. In this paper we present a minimization analysis technique that allows analysts to decide which minimal set of security measures would guarantee the safety of the system. We provide a formal characterization of this problem: we prove that it is polynomially equivalent to the minimum hitting set problem and we present a greedy algorithm with provable bounds. We also present a reliability analysis technique that allows analysts to perform a simple cost-benefit trade-off depending on the likelihoods of attacks. By interpreting attack graphs as Markov Decision Processes we can use the value iteration algorithm to compute the probabilities of intruder success for each attack the graph.

Two Formal Analyses of Attack Graphs

We apply a model checker to the problem of test generation using a new application of mutation analysis. We define syntactic operators, each of which produces a slight variation on a given model. The operators define a form of mutation analysis at the level of the model checker specification. A model checker generates countersamples which distinguish the variations from the original specification. The countersamples can easily be turned into complete test cases, that is, with inputs and expected results. We define two classes of operators: those that produce test cases from which a correct implementation must differ, and those that produce test cases with which it must agree. There are substantial advantages to combining a model checker with mutation analysis. First, test case generation is automatic; each countersample is a complete test case. Second, in sharp contrast to program-based mutation analysis, equivalent mutant identification is also automatic. We apply our method to an example specification and evaluate the resulting test sets with coverage metrics on a Java implementation.

Using Model Checking to Generate Tests from Specifications | NIST

Manufacturers are faced with many challenges, such as globalization, disparate enterprise systems and a lack of platform maturity. These will only multiply as technology advances, offshore manufacturing increases and new ways of working emerge. To overcome these challenges, many manufacturers have embraced product lifecycle management (PLM) or have expanded the use of PLM processes and tools to manage product data effi ciently, with increased visibility and control over the life cycle of the product.

/pdf/product-lifecycle-management-4mlr7de931.pdf

Product lifecycle management

A survey of approaches combining safety and security for industrial control systems

Technology development in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT) and more specifically in Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) has enabled a whole set of new applications in several fields of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Among all, smart-railways represents one of the most challenging scenarios, due to its wide geographical distribution and strict energy-awareness. This paper aims to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in LPWAN, with a focus on intelligent transportation. This study is part of the RAILS (Roadmaps for Artificial Intelligence integration in the raiL Sector) research project, funded by the European Union under the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking. As a first step to meet its objectives, RAILS surveys the current state of development of technology enablers for smart-railways considering possible technology transfer from other sectors. To that aim, IoT and LPWAN technologies appear as very promising for cost-effective remote surveillance, monitoring and control over large geographical areas, by collecting data for several sensing applications (e.g., predictive condition-based maintenance, security early warning and situation awareness, etc.) even in situations where power supply is limited (e.g., where solar panels are employed) or absent (e.g., installation on-board freight cars).

Low-Power Wide-Area Networks in Intelligent Transportation: Review and Opportunities for Smart-Railways

This work aims at defining a procedure and a set of mechanisms able to improve the quality of the code coverage in automated software reverse engineering processes, and specifically in automated GUI-driven testing of Android apps. Existing automated model-based testing techniques, based on reverse engineering, generate test cases which can be executed directly on the software's GUI. We propose to augment the code coverage of these techniques, by exploiting information from patterns, defined at different levels (application design, state-based model, interaction with Android services), and generating additional test cases that may increase the coverage capability of GUI-Ripping based testing technique. The generation of the additional test cases is accomplished by defining an automatable procedure which exploits an existing GUI testing approach and a pattern based approach used in a different context.

Improving code coverage in android apps testing by exploiting patterns and automatic test case generation

Model-driven techniques can be used to automatically produce formal models from different views of a system realised by using several modelling languages and notations. Specifications are transformed into formal models so facilitating the analysis of complex system for design, validation or verification purposes. However, no single formalism suits for representing all system’s views. In particular, the assessment of non-functional properties often requires integrated modelling approaches. The ultimate goal of the research work described in this paper is to develop a comprehensive, theoretical and practical framework able to support the development and the integration of new or existing model-driven approaches for the automatic generation of multi-formalism models. This paper defines the core theoretical ideas on which the framework is based and demonstrates their concrete applicability to the development of a multi-formalism approach for performability assessment.

/pdf/towards-a-model-driven-engineering-approach-for-the-2exhr8e61c.pdf

Towards a model-driven engineering approach for the assessment of non-functional properties using multi-formalism

Model Based Testing (MBT) enables automatic generation of test cases using models to specify the system behavior and requirements. Key features of MBT approaches are the automation level and the complexity of non-automated steps. Usually, test case generation is supported by some automatic technique whereas modeling is manually performed. UML statecharts or other extended finite state machine formalisms are widely used to build behavior models. To ease their development, as well as the extraction of test cases from them, is an important aspect to be addressed in order to perform testing activities with lower skill, cost and effort. This paper aims at providing a contribution to both the issues. Test Specification Patterns (TSPs) are proposed and expressed by means of UML annotated statecharts as a mean to aid the construction of models and build specifications on the base of well known recurring problems and their solutions (patterns). In order to improve usability and increase the automation level, a transformational approach is defined which derives Promela code from specifications built by TSPs composition and applies model checking to obtain test sequences by using the SPIN model checker. The usage of TSPs and the test case generation process is illustrated on a test scenario from the Radio Block Centre, the vital core of the modern railway control systems.

Roberto Nardone

Papers

Low-Power Wide-Area Networks in Intelligent Transportation: Review and Opportunities for Smart-Railways

Improving code coverage in android apps testing by exploiting patterns and automatic test case generation

Towards a model-driven engineering approach for the assessment of non-functional properties using multi-formalism

Test Specification Patterns for Automatic Generation of Test Sequences

Using Bayesian Networks to evaluate the trustworthiness of ‘2 out of 3’ decision fusion mechanisms in multi-sensor applications