Building hybrid access control by configuring RBAC and MAC features

ContextRole-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Mandatory Access Control (MAC) are widely used access control models. They are often used together in domains where both data integrity and information flow are concerned. However, there is little work on techniques for building hybrid access control of RBAC and MAC.ObjectiveIn this work, we present a systematic approach for developing a hybrid access control model using feature modeling with the aim of reducing development complexity and error-proneness.MethodIn the approach, RBAC and MAC are defined in terms of features based on partial inheritance. Features are then configured for specific access control requirements of an application. Configured features are composed homogeneously and heterogeneously to produce a hybrid access model for the application. The resulting hybrid model is then instantiated in the context of the application to produce an initial design model supporting both RBAC and MAC. We evaluate the approach using a hospital system and present its tool support.ResultsRBAC and MAC features that are specifically configured for the application are systematically incorporated into a design model. The heterogeneous features of RBAC and MAC are not only present in the resulting model, but also semantically composed for seamless integration of RBAC and MAC. Discharging the proof obligations of composition rules to the resulting model proves its correctness. The successful development of the prototype demonstrates its practicality.ConclusionFeatures in the access control domain are relatively small in size and are suitable to be defined as design building blocks. The formal definition of partial inheritance and composition methods in the presented approach enables precisely specifying access control features and feature configuration, which paves the way for systematic development of a hybrid access control model in an early development phase.