Verifying security protocols with PVS: widening the rank function approach

To enable the verification of authentication protocols, Schneider formulated the rank function approach which could be used, under suitable circumstances, to verify protocols modelled using the process algebra CSP. We develop this theoretical result and extend it to a practical framework which can be used to model and analyse a wider variety of security protocols with respect to a wider range of security specifications than were hitherto possible. These results are achieved using PVS, which also provides tool support for the rank function approach.