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Although human skills are heavily involved in the Requirements Engineering process, in particular, in requirements elicitation, analysis and specification, still methodology and formalism play a determining role in providing clarity and enabling analysis. In this paper, we propose a method for deriving formal specifications, which are applicable to dependable software systems. First, we clarify what the method itself is. Computer science has a proliferation of languages and methods, but the difference between the two is not always clear. This is a conceptual contribution. Furthermore, we propose the idea of Layered Fault Tolerant Specification (LFTS). The principle consists in layering specifications in (at least) two different layers: one for normal behaviors and others (if more than one) for abnormal behaviors. Abnormal behaviors are described in terms of an Error Injector (EI), which represent a model of the expected erroneous interference coming from the environment. This structure has been inspired by the notion of an idealized Fault Tolerant component, but the combination of LFTS and EI using rely guarantee thinking to describe interference is our second contribution. The overall result is the definition of a method for the specification of systems that do not run in isolation but in the real, physical world. We propose an approach that is pragmatic to its target audience: techniques must scale and be usable by non-experts, if they are to make it into an industrial setting. This article is making tentative steps, but the recent trends in Software Engineering such as Microservices, smart and software-defined buildings, M2M micropayments and Devops are relevant fields continue the investigation concerning dependability and rely guarantee thinking.

Although human skills are heavily involved in the Requirements Engineering process, in particular, in requirements elicitation, analysis and specification, still methodology and formalism play a determining role in providing clarity and enabling analysis. In this paper, we propose a method for deriving formal specifications, which are applicable to dependable software systems. First, we clarify what the method itself is. Computer science has a proliferation of languages and methods, but the difference between the two is not always clear. This is a conceptual contribution. Furthermore, we propose the idea of Layered Fault Tolerant Specification (LFTS). The principle consists in layering specifications in (at least) two different layers: one for normal behaviors and others (if more than one) for abnormal behaviors. Abnormal behaviors are described in terms of an Error Injector (EI), which represent a model of the expected erroneous interference coming from the environment. This structure has been inspired by the notion of an idealized Fault Tolerant component, but the combination of LFTS and EI using rely guarantee thinking to describe interference is our second contribution. The overall result is the definition of a method for the specification of systems that do not run in isolation but in the real, physical world. We propose an approach that is pragmatic to its target audience: techniques must scale and be usable by non-experts, if they are to make it into an industrial setting. This article is making tentative steps, but the recent trends in Software Engineering such as Microservices, smart and software-defined buildings, M2M micropayments and Devops are relevant fields continue the investigation concerning dependability and rely guarantee thinking.

DevSecOps требует интеграции безопасности на каждом этапе разработки программного обеспечения для обеспечения безопасных и соответствующих требованиям приложений. Традиционные методы тестирования безопасности, часто выполняемые на поздних этапах разработки, недостаточны для решения задач, связанных с непрерывной интеграцией и непрерывной доставкой (CI/CD), особенно в сложных, критически важных секторах, таких как промышленная автоматизация. В данной статье мы предлагаем подход, который автоматизирует анализ и тестирование требований безопасности путем встраивания проверки требований в конвейер CI/CD. Наш метод использует инструмент ARQAN для сопоставления высокоуровневых требований безопасности с Руководствами по технической реализации безопасности (STIGs) с помощью семантического поиска, а также RQCODE для формализации этих требований в виде кода, предоставляя тестируемые и поддающиеся исполнению руководства по безопасности. Мы внедрили ARQAN и RQCODE в рамках CI/CD, интегрировав их с GitHub Actions для обеспечения проверки безопасности в реальномврем ени и автоматической проверки соответствия. Наш подход поддерживает стандарты безопасности, такие как IEC 62443, и автоматизирует оценку безопасности, начиная с этапа планирования, улучшая прослеживаемость и согласованность практик безопасности на протяжении всего конвейера. Предварительная оценка этого подхода в сотрудничестве с компанией по промышленной автоматизации показывает, что он эффективно охватывает критические требования безопасности, достигая автоматического соответствия 66,15% руководств STIG, относящихся к платформе Windows 10. Обратная связь от отраслевых специалистов подчеркивает его практичность: 85% требований безопасности сопоставлены с конкретными рекомендациями STIG, и 62% из этих требований имеют соответствующие тестируемые реализации в RQCODE. Эта оценка подчеркивает потенциал подхода для сдвига проверки безопасности на более ранние этапы разработки, способствуя более устойчивому и безопасному жизненному циклу DevSecOps.

The fast-paced environment of DevSecOps requires integrating security at every stage of software development to ensure secure, compliant applications. Traditional methods of security testing, often performed late in the development cycle, are insufficient to address the unique challenges of continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, particularly in complex, high-stakes sectors such as industrial automation. In this paper, we propose an approach that automates the analysis and testing of security requirements by embedding requirements verification into the CI/CD pipeline. Our method employs the ARQAN tool to map high-level security requirements to Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) using semantic search, and RQCODE to formalize these requirements as code, providing testable and enforceable security guidelines.We implemented ARQAN and RQCODE within a CI/CD framework, integrating them with GitHub Actions for realtime security checks and automated compliance verification. Our approach supports established security standards like IEC 62443 and automates security assessment starting from the planning phase, enhancing the traceability and consistency of security practices throughout the pipeline. Evaluation of this approach in collaboration with an industrial automation company shows that it effectively covers critical security requirements, achieving automated compliance for 66.15% of STIG guidelines relevant to the Windows 10 platform. Feedback from industry practitioners further underscores its practicality, as 85% of security requirements mapped to concrete STIG recommendations, with 62% of these requirements having matching testable implementations in RQCODE. This evaluation highlights the approach’s potential to shift security validation earlier in the development process, contributing to a more resilient and secure DevSecOps lifecycle.