Analysis of Access Control Policies in Networked Embedded Systems: A Case Study

The increasing adoption of networked embedded devices in the industrial scenario demands for new techniques and computer-aided tools that could help in designing, deploying and maintaining large and complex systems. This is true, in particular, when access control is considered, since the hardware and software characteristics of many industrial embedded devices prevent the introduction of policies enforcement mechanisms at a global system level. This paper deals with our experience in analyzing the correct implementation of access policies in a medium-sized real-world system. Our approach is based on an innovative type of model and software analyzer, which is able to compare two different views of the target system, described at different abstraction levels.