The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of things that form intelligent relationships by sensing, networking, and data processing. The IoT includes end-devices and physical objects, including human wearable devices, cars, buildings, electronic devices, and the natural environment. In an IoT environment, devices autonomously respond to actual events on the basis of network connectivity and perform a particular action without human intervention. A number of studies have investigated various types of access control mechanisms, such as access control list, discretionary access control, and role-based access control (RBAC). Access control is a technique to control what users can do and which resources they can access. In RBAC, users are allocated roles and assigning of permissions to access resources is not mapped to users but roles. The management of permissions for a large number of users is easy and flexible. RBAC has also some limitations, such as high resource usage, complex permission inheritance, and delegation policies.

Papers:

R. Sandhu, E. Coyne, H. Feinstein and C. Youman, “Role-Based Access Control Models”, IEEE Computer, Vol. 29, No.2, pp. 38-47, 1996.

J. Hernández-Ramos, A. Jara, “Distributed Capability-based Access Control for the Internet of Things” Journal of Internet Services and Information Security, Vol.3, No.3/4, pp.1-16, 2013.

G. Zyskind, et al, "A Decentralizing Privacy: Using Blockchain to Protect Personal Data", IEEE Security and Privacy Workshops, pp. 180-184, 2015