Mobile Identity, Credential, and Access Management Framework

Organizations today gather unprecedented quantities of data from their operations. This data is coming from transactions made by a person or from a connected system/application. From personal devices to industry including government, the internet has become the primary means of modern communication, further increasing the need for a method to track and secure these devices. Protecting the integrity of connected devices collecting data is critical to ensure the trustworthiness of the system. An organization must not only know the identity of the users on their networks and have the capability of tracing the actions performed by a user but they must trust the system providing them with this knowledge. This increase in the pace of usage of personal devices along with a lack of trust in the internet has driven demand for trusted digital identities. As the world becomes increasingly mobile with the number of smart phone users growing annually and the mobile web flourishing, it is critical to implement strong security on mobile devices. To manage the vast number of devices and feel confident that a machine’s identity is verifiable, companies need to deploy digital credentialing systems with a strong root of trust. As passwords are not a secure method of authentication, mobile devices and other forms of IoT require a means of two-factor authentication that meets NIST standards. Traditionally, this has been done with Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) through the use of a smart card. Blockchain technologies combined with PKI can be utilized in such a way as to provide an identity and access management solution for the internet of things (IoT). Improvements to the security of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and various implementations of blockchain make viable options for managing the identity and access of IoT devices. When PKI first began over two decades ago, it required the use of a smart card with a set of credentials known as the personal identity verification (PIV) card. The PIV card (something you have) along with a personal identification number (PIN) (something you know) were used to implement two-factor authentication. Over time the use of the PIV cards has proven challenging as mobile devices lack the integrated smart card readers found in laptop and desktop computers. Near Field Communication (NFC) capability in most smart phones and mobile devices provides a mechanism to allow a PIV card to be read by a mobile device. In addition, the existing PKI system must be updated to meet the demands of a mobile focused internet. Blockchain technology is the key to modernizing PKI. Together, blockchain-based PKI and NFC will provide an IoT solution that will allow industry, government, and individuals a foundation of trust in the world wide web that is lacking today

The simplicity project: easing the burden of using complex and heterogeneous ICT devices and services

As of today, to exploit the variety of different "services", users need to configure each of their devices by using different procedures and need to explicitly select among heterogeneous access technologies and protocols. In addition to that, users are authenticated and charged by different means. The lack of implicit human computer interaction, context-awareness and standardisation places an enormous burden of complexity on the shoulders of the final users. The IST-Simplicity project aims at leveraging such problems by: i) automatically creating and customizing a user communication space; ii) adapting services to user terminal characteristics and to users preferences; iii) orchestrating network capabilities. The aim of this paper is to present the technical framework of the IST-Simplicity project. This paper is a thorough analysis and qualitative evaluation of the different technologies, standards and works presented in the literature related to the Simplicity system to be developed

Building a truster environment for e-business : a Malaysian perspective

Internet identify ‘security’ as a major concern for businesses. In general, the level of security in any network environment is closely linked to the level of trust assigned to a particular individual or organization within that environment. It is the trust element that is crucial in ensuring a secure environment. Besides physical security, security technology needs to be utilised to provide a trusted environment for e-business. Network security components for perimeter defense, i.e., Virtual Private Networks, firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems, need to be complemented by security components at the applications and user level, e.g., authentication of user. ID or password security solution may be an option but now with the availability of legally binding digital certificates, security in e-business transactions can be further improved. Time and date stamping of e-business transactions are also of concern to prove at a later date that the transactions took place at the stipulated date and time. Digital certificates are part of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) scheme, which is an enabling technology for building a trusted epvironment. PIU comprise policies and procedures for establishing a secure method for exchanging information over a network environment. The Digital Signature Act 1997 (DSA 1997) facilitates the PKI implementation in Malaysia. Following the DSA 1997, Certification Authorities (CAs) were set up in Malaysia. This paper describes a trusted platform for spurring ebusiness and provides a Malaysian perspective of it

IAMS framework: a new framework for acceptable user experiences for integrating physical and virtual identity access management systems

The modern world is populated with so many virtual and physical Identity Access Management Systems (IAMSs) that individuals are required to maintain numerous passwords and login credentials. The tedious task of remembering multiple login credentials can be minimised through the utilisation of an innovative approach of single sign-in mechanisms. During recent times, several systems have been developed to provide physical and virtual identity management systems; however, most have not been very successful. Many of the available systems do not provide the feature of virtual access on mobile devices via the internet; this proves to be a limiting factor in the usage of the systems. Physical spaces, such as offices and government entities, are also favourable places for the deployment of interoperable physical and virtual identity management systems, although this area has only been explored to a minimal level. Alongside increasing the level of awareness for the need to deploy interoperable physical and virtual identity management systems, this paper addresses the immediate need to establish clear standards and guidelines for successful integration of the two medium

TechNews digests: Jan - Nov 2008

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

A cooperative cellular and broadcast conditional access system for Pay-TV systems

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2009 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.The lack of interoperability between Pay-TV service providers and a horizontally integrated business transaction model have compromised the competition in the Pay-TV market. In addition, the lack of interactivity with customers has resulted in high churn rate and improper security measures have contributed into considerable business loss. These issues are the main cause of high operational costs and subscription fees in the Pay-TV systems. As a result, this paper presents the Mobile Conditional Access System (MICAS) as an end-to-end access control solution for Pay-TV systems. It incorporates the mobile and broadcasting systems and provides a platform whereby service providers can effectively interact with their customers, personalize their services and adopt appropriate security measurements. This would result in the decrease of operating expenses and increase of customers' satisfaction in the system. The paper provides an overview of state-of-the-art conditional access solutions followed by detailed description of design, reference model implementation and analysis of possible MICAS security architectures.Strategy & Technology (S&T) Lt