Modelling Trust and Trusted Systems: A Category Theoretic Approach
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866911442412765184 |
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| author | Oliver, Ian Kuure, Pekka |
| author_facet | Oliver, Ian Kuure, Pekka |
| contents | We introduces a category-theoretic framework for modelling trust as applied to trusted computation systems and remote attestation. By formalizing elements, claims, results, and decisions as objects within a category, and the processes of attestation, verification, and decision-making as morphisms, the framework provides a rigorous approach to understanding trust establishment and provides a well-defined semantics for terms such as `trustworthiness' and 'justification'/forensics. The trust decision space is formalized using a Heyting Algebra, allowing nuanced trust levels that extend beyond binary trusted/untrusted states. We then present additional structures and in particular utilise exponentiation in a category theoretic sense to define compositions of attestation operations and provide the basis of a measurement for the expressibility of an attestation environment. We present a number of worked examples including boot-run-shutdown sequences, Evil Maid attacks and the specification of an attestation environment based upon this model. We then address challenges in modelling dynamic and larger systems made of multiple compositions. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_11376 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Modelling Trust and Trusted Systems: A Category Theoretic Approach Oliver, Ian Kuure, Pekka Cryptography and Security 68P25 18A15 D.2.1; D.2.4; D.2.11 We introduces a category-theoretic framework for modelling trust as applied to trusted computation systems and remote attestation. By formalizing elements, claims, results, and decisions as objects within a category, and the processes of attestation, verification, and decision-making as morphisms, the framework provides a rigorous approach to understanding trust establishment and provides a well-defined semantics for terms such as `trustworthiness' and 'justification'/forensics. The trust decision space is formalized using a Heyting Algebra, allowing nuanced trust levels that extend beyond binary trusted/untrusted states. We then present additional structures and in particular utilise exponentiation in a category theoretic sense to define compositions of attestation operations and provide the basis of a measurement for the expressibility of an attestation environment. We present a number of worked examples including boot-run-shutdown sequences, Evil Maid attacks and the specification of an attestation environment based upon this model. We then address challenges in modelling dynamic and larger systems made of multiple compositions. |
| title | Modelling Trust and Trusted Systems: A Category Theoretic Approach |
| topic | Cryptography and Security 68P25 18A15 D.2.1; D.2.4; D.2.11 |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11376 |