An Efficient Access Control Method for Resource Constrained Embedded Systems

Abstract: The way to communicate and distribute the information in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is constantly under evolution; at beginning the networks sent the information using proprietary protocols; but today, using IP protocol has become widely used to improve the interoperability and to standardize. These nodes often are constrained re- source devices and are not able to use the same mechanisms that a normal computer uses, because the processing performance and memory capacity are smaller than a nor- mal computer. With standardized protocols, like CoAP, an embedded device is able to create and offer resources to others. In some applications the data is confidential and must be pro- tected against intruders, for this reason the use of encryption techniques is mandatory; but even with encryption there is no mechanism to control the access to each resource and with method is used to access. Also standard computing solutions are not directly applicable, because the power consumption and processing performance. Therefore all resources are accessible to anyone with permissions to connect to the embedded device. In this thesis a new method of access control for resource-constrained devices is pro- posed as a extension of CoAP protocol. Which keep the original concepts of low-power and small processing overhead. This method can be a small step forward on the WSNs evolution. The results obtained are only about the method, the integration of this method into a complete access control framework is part of future work.