The “Test of Time” Award, a tribute to visionary research

The “Test of Time” award, recently awarded to Tamara Rezk, recognizes a fundamental research work published 20 years ago, now considered a major breakthrough in the field of cybersecurity. This theoretical paper, written during her thesis in collaboration with Pedro R. D'Argenio and Gilles Barthe, overcame a major limitation of software verification tools.

At the time, she had developed a method for using tools originally intended for safety properties to prove security-related properties such as confidentiality and integrity. This was a real revolution in the field, opening up unprecedented perspectives.

Today, this method is still used to analyze attacks on recent microprocessors. This award underlines the influence of fundamental research that continues to transform practices.

The “Test of Time” award highlights the ability of a scientific article to stand the test of time. This type of distinction is rare, rewarding research that proves its enduring relevance.

This award also underlines the importance of fundamental research. Although at the time of its publication, the theoretical importance of this method was obvious, its practical applications gradually came to light, highlighting its concrete impact.