a conceptual framework for group-centric secure information sharing
In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for developing a family of models for Group-Centric information sharing. The traditional approach to information sharing, characterized as Dissemination-Centric in this paper, focuses on attaching attributes and policies to an object (sometimes called "sticky policies") as it is disseminated from producers to consumers in a system. In contrast, Group-Centric sharing envisions bringing the subjects and objects together in a group to facilitate sharing. The metaphor is that of a secure meeting room where participants and information come together to "share" information for some common purpose. Another metaphor is that of the subscription model where, depending on policy, joining users may or may not be authorized to access past content. We argue that in such contexts, and in accordance with different application use cases, authorizations are influenced by the temporal ordering of subject and object group membership and by the precise nature of membership operations. For instance some subjects may only get future information added to the group while others may also be able to access previously added information. We develop a lattice of models based on variations of these basic membership operations, and discuss usage scenarios to illustrate practical applications of this lattice. Two principles guide Group-Centric models. First, "share but differentiate" which promotes sharing while differentiating user authorizations depending on temporal aspect of membership. Next, "groups within groups" which advocates relationships (such as a hierarchy) between multiple groups. In this paper, we confine our attention to read accesses in a single group.
information sharing models access control