Verifying the security of a software application can be difficult.

Repeated cycles of pen testing and iteration can extend development cycles far beyond what the market is willing to wait for. And customers aren't willing to risk their data security on a hunch that application security is possible. They want proof.

Thankfully, proof is available.

Formal verification can be used to definitively prove the security properties of individual software applications, particularly those built using the seL4 microkernel. This provides an opportunity to "set it, and forget it," trading hours of costly testing for a mathematical proof and greater confidence.

One of the inaugural members of the seL4 Foundation, DornerWorks is a leader in helping companies accelerate integration of the seL4 microkernel as the trusted base for their software. This most often looks like a custom-configured package developed for the customer, which they can plug in to their system and use to grow their business.

DornerWorks has ported seL4 to a wide-variety of platforms including ARMv8, x86 and RISC-V devices, and has recently developed three tiers of virtual machine (VM) configurations that can provide a secure foundation, interoperability, and even real-time responsiveness for countless software solutions while maintaining all rigors of separation between VMs.

1. The low-cost configuration targets the Avnet Ultra96 dev board with 2 Linux Virtual Machines: This entry distribution is configured to run two separate instances of Linux OS on the modestly priced Ultra96.

2. The second tier offers more interoperable potential, supporting 3 Linux Virtual Machines on a Xilinx ZCU102 dev board.

3. The most versatile configuration of the three targets the Xilinx ZCU102 dev board and supports 3 Linux VMs and 1 FreeRTOS VM. The RTOS VM has control of the CAN bus so you can handle those pesky CAN messages in real time.

The preconfigured options Include software binaries and instructions on an SD card and are available at: https://dornerworks.com/solutions/embedded-virtualization/sel4-microkernel/configurations/.