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Authorization Enforcement Usability Case Study

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Engineering Secure Software and Systems (ESSoS 2011)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 6542))

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Abstract

Authorization is a key aspect in secure software development of multi-user applications. Authorization is often enforced in the program code with enforcement statements. Since authorization is present in numerous places, defects in the enforcement are difficult to discover. One approach to this challenge is to improve the developer usability with regard to authorization. We analyze how software development is affected by authorization in a real-world case study and particularly focus on the loose-coupling properties of authorization frameworks that separate authorization policy from enforcement. We show that authorization is a significant aspect in software development and that the effort can be reduced through appropriate authorization frameworks. Lastly, we formulate advice on the design of enforcement APIs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technologie-Zentrum Informatik TZI, Universität Bremen, Bibliothekstr. 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Steffen Bartsch

Authors
  1. Steffen Bartsch
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Google Inc., 1288 Pear Ave, 94043, Mountain View, CA, USA

    Úlfar Erlingsson

  2. Computer Science Department, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Roel Wieringa

  3. Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Nicola Zannone

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Bartsch, S. (2011). Authorization Enforcement Usability Case Study. In: Erlingsson, Ú., Wieringa, R., Zannone, N. (eds) Engineering Secure Software and Systems. ESSoS 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6542. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19125-1_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19125-1_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-19124-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-19125-1

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