Valiidsus

Valiidsus is a theoretical framework and practice area that addresses the dual goals of validating data, processes, and interfaces while assessing their susceptibility to errors, manipulation, and systemic weaknesses. The term combines validation theory with susceptibility analysis to emphasize correctness and risk assessment. It is used in security engineering, software quality assurance, and risk management to structure assessments of how robust validation mechanisms are against misinput, spoofing, or corruption.

The concept appears in academic and professional discussions of secure design, especially in complex, interconnected systems. The name appears in publications dating from the mid-2010s onward as researchers described approaches that integrate verification and vulnerability assessment.

Core concepts include validation coverage and correctness properties, measurement of susceptibility, attack surface scoring, and rates of false acceptance and false rejection. Methods may combine static analysis, dynamic testing, formal verification, fuzzing, and threat modeling to evaluate both the validity of inputs and the likelihood of adversarial exploitation.

Applications include shaping validation pipelines in software development, guiding security reviews, and informing risk-management decisions. Typical workflows model expected data, enumerate attack vectors, execute validations, measure outcomes, and iterate on controls to reduce both validation failures and susceptibility.

Limitations and reception: valiidsus lacks a universally accepted standard, so metrics and definitions vary by domain. Results depend on scenario scope and modeling assumptions and can be resource-intensive. Critics warn that overreliance on abstract metrics may obscure practical security gaps.

See also: validation, software security, threat modeling, risk assessment.