Comparison of Adaptive Information Security Approaches

Table 4

Data for comparison framework.

Property	Description
Adaptation
Object to adapt	Generic approach. For the adaptive authorization, authors mention the following possibilities: security policy, algorithms, protocols, and encryption schemes.
Adaptation timing	Runtime, proactive, and reactive
Monitoring and analyses	Security measuring is the most emphasised form of monitoring. Moreover, anomaly and QoS monitoring are also mentioned. The component called Adaptive Analyser and Learner utilises the results of monitoring. The results from security measuring are composed for higher levels. However, the functionality of the component is not described in more detail.
Planning and execution	Composed together into the phase called Adapt. The content of this phase is not described in more detail.
Knowledge	The Analyser component communicates with the Adaptive database. However, the included knowledge is not described.
Self-properties	Self-healing by means of self-configuration, that is, selecting replicated component in failure situation.; Self-protection by means of self-configuring and self-optimization.
Security
Attributes	Generic approach. Adaptive authentication and authorization are emphasized in the above mentioned papers. However, means to monitor, other security attributes are also presented.
Mechanisms	Generic approach
Protected asset	Generic approach
Threats	Generic approach
Lifecycle
Architecture	The Adaptive Security Manager (ASM) component performs all tasks related to adaptation. The component contains monitor, analyse, and adaptation parts. Furthermore, adapted security mechanisms are also included inside this component. The monitor part utilises security measurements from different layers of the GEMOM middleware.
Extensibility	The adaptation loop is located inside one component, which is closely related to the GEMOM middleware. Hence, extending the whole approach will be laborious. However, the monitoring part is described in an extensible manner.
Flexibility	The approach is tested in various environments. However, all of these utilise the GEMOM middleware as a whole.
Reusability	The security measuring is described in the reusable form. The adaptation loop is tightly coupled to the GEMOM middleware.
Maturity	Validation with five different scenarios, that is, a collaborative business portal, a dynamic linked exchange, a financial market data delivery system, a dynamic road management system, and a banking scenario for transaction processing. Implementation by means of deliverables and publications from the GEMOM project. The GEMOM project ended in 2010; software community is not available.