Security Analysis of ABAC under an Administrative Model

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Security
• Access Control Systems

Background:

• Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) is crucial for modern computing, utilizing contextual information like user location and access time for security policies.
• ABAC systems base access decisions on attribute values linked to subjects, resources, and the environment.
• Managing attributes and analyzing their security implications is vital in ABAC systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a comprehensive attribute-based administrative model for ABAC systems, named AMABAC (Administrative Model for ABAC).
• To propose a methodology for analyzing the security properties of ABAC within the context of the AMABAC model.
• To investigate the impact of ABAC and AMABAC components on security analysis time.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Administrative Model for ABAC (AMABAC).
• Utilization of a Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) based model checking tool, μZ, for security analysis.
• Empirical study of the influence of various ABAC and AMABAC components on analysis duration.

Main Results:

• Introduction of the AMABAC model for enhanced administrative control in ABAC systems.
• A novel methodology for security property analysis of ABAC systems integrated with AMABAC.
• Quantification of the impact of different ABAC and AMABAC elements on the computational time required for security analysis.

Conclusions:

• The proposed AMABAC model provides a structured approach to managing attributes in ABAC systems.
• The developed methodology enables effective security analysis of ABAC policies incorporating administrative aspects.
• Understanding the performance implications of ABAC and AMABAC components is essential for efficient security management.