Regulating data sharing across MQTT environments. (15th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Colombo, Pietro; Ferrari, Elena; Tümer, Engin Deniz
• Is Part Of: Journal of network and computer applications. Volume 174(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01-15
• Subjects: Access control -- Internet of Things -- MQTT -- ABAC -- Bridged environments; Microcomputers -- Periodicals; Computer networks -- Periodicals; Application software -- Periodicals; Micro-ordinateurs -- Périodiques; Réseaux d'ordinateurs -- Périodiques; Logiciels d'application -- Périodiques; Application software; Computer networks; Microcomputers; Periodicals; 004.05; 004
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnca.2020.102907
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1084-8045

Abstract

Abstract: Nowadays, due to the personal nature of the managed data, numerous Internet of Things (IoT) applications represent a potential threat to user privacy. In order to address this issue, several access control models have been specifically designed for IoT. The great majority of these proposals adopt centralized enforcement mechanisms designed to control the communication of IoT devices operating in the same environment. However, these approaches cannot regulate data exchange operated by devices connected to different environments. To the best of our knowledge, effective approaches capable of controlling these forms of communications are still missing. Therefore, in this paper, we do a step to fill this void, by focusing on applications built on top of MQTT, a widely used protocol for IoT. We propose an access control framework to regulate data sharing across bridged MQTT environments, on the basis of both access control policies and user preferences. The proposed approach regulates data exchange among IoT devices belonging to interconnected environments by means of a decentralized enforcement mechanism. Experimental analyses show the efficiency of the proposed approach.