Threshold-Based Location-Aware Access Control

Designing a secure, resilient and user-friendly access control system is a challenging task. In this article, a threshold-based location-aware access control mechanism is proposed. This design uniquely combines the concepts of secret sharing and distance bounding protocols to tackle various security vulnerabilities. The proposed solution makes use of the fact that the user carries around various personal devices. This solution offers protection against any set of (t-1) or fewer compromised user’s devices, with t being an adjustable threshold number. It removes the single point of failure in the system, as access is granted when one carries any set of t user’s devices. Additionally it supports user-centered management, since users can alter the set of personal devices and can adjust the security parameters of the access control scheme towards their required level of security and reliability. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2785-7.ch002