Refined Access Control in a Distributed Environment

In the area of computer network security, standardization work has been conducted for several years. However, the sub area of access control and authorization has so far been left out of major standardizing. This thesis explores the ongoing standardization for access control and authorization. In addition, areas and techniques supporting access control are investigated. Access control in its basic forms is described to point out the building blocks that always have to be considered when an access policy is formulated. For readers previously unfamiliar with network security a number of basic concepts are presented. An overview of access control in public networks introduces new conditions and points out standards related to access control. None of the found standards fulfills all of our requirements at current date. The overview includes a comparison between competing products, which meet most of the stated conditions. In parallel with this report a prototype was developed. The purpose of the prototype was to depict how access control could be administered and to show the critical steps in formulating an access policy.