If we contrast cryptography with other sciences, we see that a global theory or definition often promotes further research, allows to understand more general issues, which may imply a better understanding of the field. We argue that previous attempts to present such a general theory in cryptography have failed or need to be updated. In many scientific disciplines models are often updated and if necessary changed dramatically. We note that in cryptography models have often evolved, but few researchers question whether we are on the right track. We argue that the models currently used have been outdated for several years.
We realize that attempting to give a unifying theory for an area that has studied so many different goals will take some time and that a first attempt will overlook several aspects that will need to be studied further on.