Specifying usage control model with object constraint language

Abstract

The recent usage control model (UCON) is a foundation for next-generation access control models with distinguishing properties of decision continuity and attribute mutability. Constraints in UCON are one of the most important components that have involved in the principle motivations of usage analysis and design. The importance of constraints associated with authorizations, obligations, and conditions in UCON has been recognized but modeling these constraints has not been received much attention. In this paper we use a defacto constraints specification language in software engineering to analyze the constraints in UCON model. We show how to represent constraints with object constraint language (OCL) and give out a formalized specification of UCON model which is built from basic constraints, such as authorization predicates, obligation actions and condition requirements. Further, we show the flexibility and expressive capability of this specified UCON model with extensive examples.