Mind, Unity and Software Security - Analysis of Functional Unity in Cases of Data-only Attack
Ziyuan Meng
Information Security Education Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2021.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6025/isej/2021/8/2/65-74
Link: https://www.dline.info/isej/fulltext/v8n2/isejv8n2_3.pdf
Abstract:
The computer security research community today still lacks a theoretical understanding of the essence of security vulnerabilities. The article argues that the prevailing reductionism in computer science theory leads to insecure coding practice, and Immanuel Kantâ€™s philosophy of mind sheds light on what makes software secure. In particular, Kantâ€™s constructivist conceptualization of the mind and his theory on the unity of the mental faculties inspire us to develop a new, non-reductionist approach to software vulnerability problems. We argue that a computer program can possess some structural similarities to the human mind. Similar to the unity of human mind, there is also a functional unity or â€˜integrationâ€™ in any given program. In the light of this similarity, a cyber-attack can be viewed as operations to compromise a computer programâ€™s original function by violating its internal integration. To illustrate the point, we provide a detailed analysis of two examples of data-only attacks, a new emerging threat to software security. In each case study, we examine the internal, functional integration of the case program and how data-only attacks affect the integration. The result shows a direct correlation between functional integration and the security of software. In the end, we propose a new technical normativity of cultivating to supplement that of coding.