Decentralized access control framework

• US 8,166,532 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2006
• Issued: 04/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Chowdhury, Atish Datta, Chaturvedi, Namit, Balasubramanian, Meenakshi, Ganesh, Arul
• Primary Examiner(s): REVAK, CHRISTOPHER A
• Application Number:
  US11/545,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20080086758A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,023 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/9
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration

Abstract

A functional architecture is provided for decentralizing the authorization function of an access control system that incorporates user carried access devices, such as smart cards, and door controllers that interact so as to make access decisions. Access to individual rooms is guarded by parameters partially carried by the user carried access devices and partially included in the door controllers.

Claims

1. A decentralized access control system whereby access authorization decision making is decentralized, the system comprising:

at least one access controlling device, wherein the access controlling device provides a first parameter that enables a decision relating to access authorization of a user; and

,

at least one user carried device carried by the user and interacting with the access controlling device, wherein the user carried device stores a second parameter that enables the decision relating to the access authorization of the user at the instance of presenting the user carried device to the access controlling device, wherein the decision is made as a function of both the first parameter and the second parameter, and wherein at least the second parameter relates to an access control policy that provides at least one condition under which access is permitted or denied.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one access controlling device comprises at least one reader and at least one controller, wherein the at least one reader interacts with the at least one user carried device, wherein the at least one controller interacts with the at least one reader, and wherein the at least one controller provides the first parameter.

3. The system of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of the readers and a plurality of the controllers, wherein each of the plurality of the controllers interacts with a corresponding one of the plurality of the readers.

4. The system of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of the readers and a plurality of the controllers, wherein each of the plurality of the controllers interacts with a corresponding group of the plurality of the readers, and wherein each group comprises at least two of the plurality of the readers.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first parameter is system context dependent, and wherein the second parameter is specific to the user of the at least one user carried device.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the context is dynamic.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one access controlling device causes the decision to be logged in a log file.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first parameter is system context dependent, wherein the system context and the access decisions are abstracted as discrete events.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of the controllers, wherein the plurality of the controllers share an interconnect, wherein the interconnect includes an administrator that supplies special system contexts to the controllers, and wherein the special system contexts are in addition to any system contexts detected by the plurality of the controllers.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of access controlling devices collaboratively decide on a system context using an interconnect in addition to detecting system context individually, wherein the interconnect interconnects the access controlling devices.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of access controlling devices are interconnected by an interconnect, and wherein the system can tolerate a limited disconnection in the interconnect so long as the access controlling devices that need to collaborate to decide on a system context, if any, stay connected.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising an administrator, wherein the administrator includes in the second parameter a role of the user and assigns the user to the role.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the second parameter includes a user-specific authorization policy, wherein the system further comprises a system controller, and wherein the system controller extracts a precise representation of the user-specific authorization policy and provides information on how to compute the decision for the user based on the user-specific authorization policy and the first parameter.

14. The system of claim 1 further including a terminal that changes the second parameter stored on the at least one user carried device.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the access controlling device is instructed to change the second parameter stored on the user carried device when the user carried device interacts with the access controlling device.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the access controlling device and/or user carried device is not reconfigured when an administrator modifies access controlling policies.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the policy comprises a policy unrelated to verification that a user possess a valid user carried device.

18. A smart card useful in a decentralized access control system whereby access authorization decision making is decentralized, the smart card comprising:

a memory storing policy rules that provide conditions under which access is permitted or denied, wherein the policy rules enable decisions to be made at instances of presenting the smart card to an access controller controlling access to a restricted area, and wherein the decisions relate to access to the restricted area by a user of the smart card; and

,

a processor coupled to the memory and arranged to enable the decisions based upon the policy rules and a system context transmitted to the smart card, wherein the system context is based on an environment relating to the restricted area.

19. The smart card of claim 18 wherein the policy rules include at least one policy rule that is specific to the user.

20. The smart card of claim 18 wherein the memory stores history of activities specific to an user.