Process-Mining of Hypertraces: Enabling Scalable Formal Security Verification of (Automotive) Network Architectures
Pith reviewed 2026-05-09 21:22 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
A pipeline integrates Attack Resilience Hyperproperties verification with process mining on counterexample traces to scale security analysis for automotive networks.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
The central claim is that utilizing ARH counterexample traces for process mining allows systematic identification and aggregation of attacker behavior causing security property invalidations, while a verification-orchestration algorithm extends the reach of ARH-based verification to larger architectures. This enables in-depth understanding of root causes and attack paths, along with methods for attributing invalidations to fine-grained component compromises, as shown in a case study on secure transmission of battery management system data.
What carries the argument
Process mining applied to ARH counterexample hypertraces, orchestrated through a new verification algorithm that scales formal checks and supports attribution of failures.
Load-bearing premise
That the hypertraces produced by ARH verification contain sufficient information to be mined into accurate and actionable representations of real attacker behavior in automotive settings.
What would settle it
Demonstrating the method on an automotive network where either the orchestration algorithm cannot complete verification within feasible time or the process-mined models fail to identify attack paths that match known vulnerabilities.
Figures
read the original abstract
The automotive domain is transitioning: vehicles act as rolling servers, persistently connected to numerous external entities. This connectivity, combined with rising on-board computing power for advanced driver assistance systems and similar use cases, creates escalating challenges for securing automotive network architectures. This work advances the security analysis of internet-connected automotive network architectures and their protocols. We introduce a strong, active adversary model tailored to the automotive domain. We substantially extend security protocol verification possible based on Attack Resilience Hyperproperties (ARHs) by introducing a verification-orchestration algorithm. Furthermore, we provide methods for comparative attribution of security property invalidations to specific, ne-grained component compromises. We present a novel integration of formal verification and process mining. By utilizing ARH counterexample traces for process mining, we systematically identify and aggregate attacker behavior that causes security property invalidations. This pipeline enables in-depth understanding of root causes and attack paths leading to protocol-security invalidations. We demonstrate real-world applicability through a prototype and case study on the secure transmission of battery management system data within an automotive network architecture.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper introduces a domain-specific strong active adversary model for automotive networks and substantially extends Attack Resilience Hyperproperties (ARHs) by adding a verification-orchestration algorithm. It further integrates formal verification with process mining applied to ARH counterexample hypertraces, enabling systematic identification and aggregation of attacker behaviors that invalidate security properties, along with comparative attribution of invalidations to component compromises. The approach is demonstrated via a prototype implementation and a case study on secure battery-management-system data transmission within an automotive network architecture.
Significance. If the pipeline and prototype perform as described, the work offers a meaningful advance by bridging formal hyperproperty verification with process mining to produce actionable models of attack paths and root causes in complex automotive systems. The concrete prototype and end-to-end case study on battery-management data transmission constitute a strength, supplying a falsifiable demonstration rather than purely theoretical claims.
minor comments (2)
- [Abstract] Abstract: the phrase 'ne-grained' is a typographical error and should read 'fine-grained'.
- [Abstract] The abstract states that the orchestration algorithm renders verification scalable, yet provides no quantitative metrics (e.g., trace volume handled, runtime, or comparison against baseline ARH verification); adding such data from the case study would strengthen the central scalability claim.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the positive assessment of our work, the recognition of its significance in bridging formal hyperproperty verification with process mining for automotive security analysis, and the recommendation for minor revision. We appreciate the constructive feedback and will incorporate all suggested improvements in the revised manuscript.
Circularity Check
No significant circularity; methodological extensions on prior ARH base
full rationale
The paper describes a pipeline that extends Attack Resilience Hyperproperties (ARHs) with a new verification-orchestration algorithm, attribution methods, and process mining on counterexample hypertraces. No equations, derivations, or fitted parameters are presented that reduce to self-definition or tautology. The central claims rest on concrete prototype implementation and case-study demonstration rather than any self-referential reduction. Self-citation to prior ARH work is present but not load-bearing for the new contributions, which are independently described and evaluated.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (2)
- domain assumption Standard assumptions of formal security protocol verification hold for automotive networks
- domain assumption A strong active adversary model is appropriate for internet-connected vehicles
invented entities (2)
-
Verification-orchestration algorithm
no independent evidence
-
Process-mining pipeline on ARH hypertraces
no independent evidence
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
der Aalst, W.M.P., v., Dongen, B.F., v., Günther, C., Rozinat, A., Verbeek, H., Weijters, A.: ProM : The process mining toolkit. Proc. BPM 2009 Demonstr. Track BPMDemos 2009 Ulm Ger. Sept. 8 2009 pp. 1–4 (2009)
work page 2009
-
[2]
ASAM e.V.: Asam Sovd Service-Oriented Vehicle Diagnostics (Jun 2022)
work page 2022
-
[3]
Basin, D., Cremers, C.: Know Your Enemy: Compromising Adversaries in Protocol Analysis. ACM Trans. Inf. Syst. Secur.17(2), 1–31 (Nov 2014). https://doi.org/10.1145/2658996
-
[4]
PM4Py: A process mining library for Python.Softw
Berti, A., Van Zelst, S., Schuster, D.: PM4Py: A process min- ing library for Python. Software Impacts17, 100556 (Sep 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.simpa.2023.100556
-
[5]
Casaluce, R., Burratin, A., Chiaromonte, F., Lluch-Lafuente, A., Vandin, A.: En- hancing Threat Model Validation: A White-Box Approach based on Statistical Model Checking and Process Mining. In: DAMOCLES@AVI (Jan 2024)
work page 2024
-
[6]
Clarke, E.M., Klieber, W., Nováček, M., Zuliani, P.: Model Checking and the State Explosion Problem. In: Meyer, B., Nordio, M. (eds.) Tools for Practical Software Verification, vol. 7682, pp. 1–30. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35746-6_1
-
[7]
Dürrwang, J., Sommer, F., Kriesten, R.: Automation in Automotive Security by Using Attacker Privileges. In: ESCAR 2021 Eur. Frankfurt, Germany (Nov 2021)
work page 2021
-
[8]
Figge, J., Knuplesch, D.: Applications of Formal Verification Techniques for Secu- rity in Automotive Diagnostics - a Literature-Survey (Nov 2024)
work page 2024
-
[9]
In: Bianculli, D., Gómez-Martínez, E
Figge, J., Knuplesch, D., Maletti, A., Zuvic, D.: Attack Resilience Hyperproperties: Formal Security Analysis of (Automotive) Network Architectures Under Active Compromise. In: Bianculli, D., Gómez-Martínez, E. (eds.) Software Engineering and Formal Methods, vol. 16192, pp. 15–33. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032...
-
[10]
In: Kroening, D., Păsăreanu, C.S
Finkbeiner, B., Rabe, M.N., Sánchez, C.: Algorithms for Model Checking Hyper- LTL and HyperCTL$$^*$$. In: Kroening, D., Păsăreanu, C.S. (eds.) Comput. Aided Verification. pp. 30–48. Springer International Publishing, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21690-4_3
-
[11]
In: 29th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 20)
Girol, G., Hirschi, L., Sasse, R., Jackson, D., Cremers, C., Basin, D.: A Spec- tral Analysis of Noise: A Comprehensive, Automated, Formal Analysis of Diffie- Hellman Protocols. In: 29th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 20). pp. 1857–1874 (2020)
work page 2020
-
[12]
Huelsewies, M.: Server-Based Architecture - Transformation in Products (Jul 2021)
work page 2021
-
[13]
In: Parsons, J., Saeki, M., Shoval, P., Woo, C., Wand, Y
Knuplesch, D., Ly, L.T., Rinderle-Ma, S., Pfeifer, H., Dadam, P.: On Enabling Data-Aware Compliance Checking of Business Process Models. In: Parsons, J., Saeki, M., Shoval, P., Woo, C., Wand, Y. (eds.) Conceptual Modeling – ER 2010, vol. 6412, pp. 332–346. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16373-9_24
-
[14]
Lampe, B., Meng, W.: Intrusion Detection in the Automotive Domain: A Comprehensive Review. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor.25(4), 2356–2426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2023.3309864
-
[15]
Lauser, T., Zelle, D., Krauß, C.: Security Analysis of Automo- tive Protocols. Comput. Sci. Cars Symp. pp. 1–12 (Dec 2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3385958.3430482
-
[16]
Softw Syst Model17(2), 599–631 (May 2018)
Leemans, S.J.J., Fahland, D., van der Aalst, W.M.P.: Scalable process discov- ery and conformance checking. Softw Syst Model17(2), 599–631 (May 2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-016-0545-x 22 J. Figge et al
-
[17]
IEEE Access13, 10160–10176 (2025)
Lohmiller, N., Kaniewski, S., Menth, M., Heer, T.: A Survey of Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration in Vehicles. IEEE Access13, 10160–10176 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3528562
-
[18]
Lowe, G.: A hierarchy of authentication specifications. In: Proc. 10th Comput. Secur. Found. Workshop. pp. 31–43. IEEE Comput. Soc. Press, Rockport, MA, USA (1997). https://doi.org/10.1109/CSFW.1997.596782
-
[19]
Mannhardt, F., De Leoni, M., Reijers, H.A.: Heuristic mining revamped: An inter- active, data-aware, and conformance-aware miner. In: 15th Int. Conf. Bus. Process Manag. BPM 2017. pp. 1–5. CEUR-WS. org (2017)
work page 2017
-
[20]
Marksteiner, S.F., Schmittner, C., Christl, K., Nickovic, D., Sjödin, M., Sirjani, M.: From TARA to Test: Automated Automotive Cybersecurity Test Generation Out of Threat Modeling. In: 7th CSCS. pp. 1–10. ACM, Darmstadt Germany (Dec 2023). https://doi.org/10.1145/3631204.3631864
-
[21]
Martinelli, F., Mercaldo, F., Nardone, V., Orlando, A., Santone, A., Vaglini, G.: Model Checking Based Approach for Compliance Checking. Inf. Technol. Control 48(2), 278–298 (Jun 2019). https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.48.2.21724
-
[22]
Nießen, T., Weissenbacher, G.: Finding counterexamples to∀∃hyperproperties (Jan 2024). https://doi.org/10.34726/5455
-
[23]
Rocchetto,M.,Tippenhauer,N.O.:CPDY:ExtendingtheDolev-YaoAttackerwith Physical-LayerInteractions(Jul2016).https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1607.02562
-
[25]
Seo, J., Kwak, J., Kim, S.: Formally Verified Software Update Management System in Automotive. Veh. 2023 (2023). https://doi.org/10.14722/vehiclesec.2023.23087
-
[26]
Uptane Standards Group: Uptane: Securing delivery of software updates for ground vehicles. https://uptane.org/assets/files/uptane_first_whitepaper_7821- efd12526ce69d174eb215e0ecdad29dd.pdf (Jun 2021)
work page 2021
-
[27]
Vamour, C.: Security of Over-the-Air Software Update towards SDV (Sep 2023)
work page 2023
-
[28]
van der Aalst, W.M.P., de Beer, H.T., van Dongen, B.F.: Process Min- ing and Verification of Properties: An Approach Based on Temporal Logic. In: Meersman, R., Tari, Z. (eds.) Move Meaningful Internet Syst. 2005 CoopIS DOA ODBASE. pp. 130–147. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/11575771_11
-
[29]
Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science121, 3–21 (Feb 2005)
van der Aalst, W.M.P., de Medeiros, A.K.A.: Process Mining and Secu- rity: Detecting Anomalous Process Executions and Checking Process Confor- mance. Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science121, 3–21 (Feb 2005). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2004.10.013
-
[30]
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08848-3{\_}9
Van Der Aalst, W.M.P., Carmona, J. (eds.): Process Mining Handbook, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol. 448. Springer International Pub- lishing, Cham (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08848-3
-
[31]
Yu, S.: Regular Languages. In: Rozenberg, G., Salomaa, A. (eds.) Handbook of Formal Languages: Volume 1 Word, Language, Grammar, pp. 41–110. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59136-5_2
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.