A novel zero-trust network access control scheme based on the security profile of devices and users

Abstract

Security constitutes a principal concern for communication networks and services at present. This way, threats should be under control to minimize risks over time in real environments. With this aim, we introduce here a new approach for access control aimed to strengthen security in corporate networks and service providers related environments. Our proposal, named SADAC (Security Attribute-based Dynamic Access Control) presents three main novel features: (i) security related attributes regarding both configuration and operation are considered for network access control of final devices/users; (ii) a dynamic supervision procedure is implemented to evaluate the security profile associated to devices/users over time and, if so, to apply corresponding access restrictions; and (iii) a supervision procedure that also permits to diagnose the causes of inadequate security behaviours, so that the final devices/users can adapt their configuration and/or operation. We describe the overall access control methodology as well as the aspects for its implementation. In particular, we present and evaluate the specific deployment of SADAC for a corporate WiFi environment supported on a Raspberry Pi-based AP to provide Internet access to mobile devices. Through this experimentation we can conclude the convenience of adopting the approach for improving security by minimizing risks in network and communication environments.