Melbourne, Jan. 28: Scientists have developed what they claim is the world’s first hack-free software which can protect systems from failure or malicious attacks.
The seL4 microkernel has been developed by a team led by Australia’s ICT Research Centre of Excellence’s spinout company — Open Kernel Labs. It is a small operating system (OS) kernel that regulates access to a computer’s hardware.
Its a unique feature is that it has been mathematically proven to operate correctly, enabling it to separate trusted from untrusted software, protecting critical services from a failure or a malicious attack, say the scientists.
In future applications, seL4 could ensure that trusted financial transaction software from secure sources like banks or stock exchanges can operate securely on a customer’s mobile phone alongside “untrusted” software, such as games downloaded from the Internet, according to its developers.
It could also provide a secure and reliable environment for mission-critical defence data, operating on the same platform as everyday applications like email. Or, it could protect the life-supporting functions of an implanted medical device, such as a pacemaker, from hacking, they say.
“Our seL4 microkernel is the only OS kernel in existence whose source code has been mathematically proven to implement its specification correctly. Under the assumptions of the proof it will always do precisely what its specification says it will do,” lead scientist Mr Gerwin Klein said.