Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies a cross-platform policy management framework for IoT. It defines requirements and mechanisms for managing and mapping user attributes to support interoperability across heterogeneous IoT platforms.

Purpose

With the advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, numerous IoT platforms have been developed. However, the heterogeneity of data models, attribute schemas, and operational policies across platforms hinders seamless integration. Users attempting to access resources across different IoT platforms often encounter challenges in attribute -based policy application, as attribute formats and policy definitions vary across platforms. Additionally, the absence of standardized mechanisms for policy management among heterogeneous platforms exacerbates these interoperability barriers, limiting resource utilization across the IoT ecosystem.

Existing approaches to address these challenges, such as ontology -based policy models and separate policy enforcement mechanisms, present limitations. Ontology -based solutions require the definition and management of complex ontologies, which can be diffic ult to maintain across heterogeneous platforms. Separate policy enforcement mechanisms are often deployed independently from IoT platforms. These mechanisms typically rely on centralized third -party infrastructures, which may introduce risks related to availability, integrity, and confidentiality. These approaches may not accommodate the diverse and dynamic data models of IoT platforms without significant modifications.

This document proposes a policy management framework leveraging blockchain technology and a metadata registry (MDR) to address the interoperability challenges between heterogeneous IoT platforms. The framework eliminates the need for ontology or centralize d policy enforcement systems by facilitating the secure sharing of user attribute representations across platforms.

Blockchain plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity and reliability of shared data through distributed ledgers and consensus algorithms, ensuring robustness even in the presence of potential malicious activities. Meanwhile, the MDR supports accur ate mapping and management of user attributes, enabling effective cross-platform policy management. By utilizing existing platform - specific mechanisms for attribute validation and policy enforcement, this framework avoids the complexity and overhead of developing separate policy control systems. It not only enhances security and efficiency but also ensures the seamless integration of resources across platforms with differing data models and policies.

This framework establishes a solid foundation for secure and interoperable policy management in IoT environments, enabling seamless collaboration and resource sharing across heterogeneous systems without requiring changes to existing security architectures . The proposed framework is not tied to a specific platform and can be commonly applied across various IoT application domains, including policy coordination among smart city components. It may serve as a foundational technology for enabling policy interoperability and integration across different domains.