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Web-based access to sensitive and confidential data is realized today via different approaches, using a variety of methods to specify and combine access control policies. In an optic of change management and evolution, a structured and flexible model is needed to handle dynamicity, particularly when handling rights in systems with many users which hold different roles. Furthermore the validation of security constraints is an important key to warrant the reliability of control mechanisms.This paper compares the temporal logic-based approach for modeling access control used by the jABC framework with two popular XML-based description languages (XACML and WS-Policy), which are quasi-standards for policy expression in Web applications. Its usage is illustrated here on the example of the web-based Online Conference Service (OCS). The respective functionalities are described and examined in consideration of their ability to validate and enforce the needed policies.

Abstract:In this paper we report on a field experience in the usage and support of an advanced Online Conference Service (OCS) as a virtual Program Committee organization tool. Three communities of users (bound to computer science conferences) were involved: they served as beta tester, and as impulse giver and validators of the stable features of the Version 3.0 of the online platform. Important is the observation that these communities are directly comparable and representative of the general setting in this application domain: this is to our knowledge the only quantitative study in this application area.Here we document and discuss the service usage patterns of the three communities, we describe the observed phenomena for weekly, daily, and feature-specific usage, and discuss the results and lessons learned.

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