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cty12/phd-thesis

Tianyu's PhD dissertation

This repository contains Tianyu's awesome PhD dissertation on gradual
information-flow control.

Topics:

  1. Overview
  2. Review of Static IFC
  3. Review of Dynamic IFC
  4. Review of Existing Gradual IFC Languages and Cast Calculi
  5. The Surface Language LambdaIFCStar
  6. The Cast Calculus LambdaIFCc
  7. Meta-theoretical Results and Mechanization
  8. Conclusion

Statements:

  1. Gradual IFC languages should not include \unk as a security label
    on literals and values
  2. Gradual IFC could be useful for the programmers
  3. IFC languages should satisfy noninterference
  4. NSU checking is a useful approach for enforcing noninterference (through the heap)
  5. Gradual languages should provide type-based reasoning
    5.1 Gradual languages should be vigilant
    5.2 Gradual IFC languages should perform type-guided classification
  6. Gradual languages should satisfy the gradual guarantee

Statements about Connections:

  • LambdaIFCStar does not include \unk as a runtime security label
  • LambdaIFCStar is a gradual IFC language
  • LambdaIFCStar satisfies noninterference (*)
  • LambdaIFCStar uses NSU to enforce noninterference through the heap
  • LambdaIFCStar is both vigilant and performs type-guided classification
  • LambdaIFCStar satisfies the gradual guarantee
  • LambdaIFCStar is type safe

Level of details:
Programmer visible details - intro - examples (show the gist; what problem is being solved?)
Details /

Implementation details - later chapters

design choice with respect to the security of the newly created memory location
Flanagan - current PC
/

  • GSLRef - an interval

    programmer chooses the label - ours

LambdaSEC LambdaIFCStar LambdaSEC (in Zdancewic)
|---------------|--------------------|
(dynamic) (gradual) (static)

Some final comments from the committee:

  1. use monospace fonts for func, addr, and diverge ✓
  2. define multi-step reduction ✓
  3. new row of the table about lambdasecstar ✓
  4. new intro paragraphs of section 2
  5. check citations of dyn IFC ✓
  6. check citations of static IFC ✓

Contributors

Created January 14, 2023
Updated May 10, 2025