¹Université du Québec en Outaouais, Informatique et ingénierie, Gatineau, Québec, Canada.
²University of Ottawa, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

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Abstract—Modelling is a proven technique to communicate and illustrate complex specifications in a wide range of disciplines. Access control (AC) specification is not an exception in this regard. Actually, it is characterized by the sensitivity and criticality of its contents where clarity and formalism are yet essential desired goals. In a metamodelling approach where textual languages and visual models are two equivalent forms of specifications, we propose an AC metamodel, setting the stage for its derived textual language. Our metamodel is characterized by its formal semantics, its modularity and refinement method, and its integration means for concurrent application of multiple reusable AC models. These characteristics enable AC specification with better readability, clarity, unambiguity and properties verification support.

Index Terms—Access control, metamodelling, formal semantics.

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Cite: Jamal Abd-Ali, Karim El Guemhioui, and Luigi Logrippo, "A Metamodel for Hybrid Access Control Policies," Journal of Software vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 784-797, 2015.