Permit Issuing Agent for Secure Device Command Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
In complex systems like energy distribution networks, ensuring secure end-to-end authentication and authorization of commands issued to devices is challenging due to the need for flexible and configurable security policies that accommodate various authorities and entities, while preventing unauthorized operations that could disrupt the system.
Innovation Solution
A permitting system with a permit issuing agent that identifies relevant business logic modules based on command attributes, determines compliance with associated business rules, and issues permits only if all rules are met, ensuring that devices execute commands from authorized sources and verify the authenticity of permits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a permitting system checks commands against multiple business logic modules to ensure security, then authentication and authorization reliability is improved, but system complexity increases due to the need to manage multiple modules and their rules
Solution Approach 1:
The permitting system is segmented into distinct business logic modules, each responsible for specific authorization rules. This segmentation allows the system to check commands against multiple specialized modules independently, improving authentication reliability while managing complexity through modular design. Each module can be configured and maintained separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The permit issuing agent acts as an intermediary between command sources and devices. It receives commands, evaluates them against multiple business logic modules, and issues permits only when all relevant rules are satisfied. This intermediary layer centralizes the complexity of multi-module coordination while presenting a simplified interface to external systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system uses configurable business logic modules to accommodate different authorities and policies, then adaptability improves, but the difficulty of configuring and managing the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The business logic modules are designed to be dynamically configurable without requiring system reconfiguration. Rules within each module can be adjusted to accommodate changing authorities, policies, and business requirements. This dynamic configuration capability enables the system to adapt to different scenarios while maintaining manageable complexity through a standardized configuration interface.
3Measurement precision
If the permit issuing agent evaluates multiple business logic modules for each command, then authorization accuracy improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary evaluation by identifying which business logic modules are relevant to each command before conducting full evaluation. This preliminary filtering reduces the number of modules that need to be fully processed for each command, maintaining high authorization accuracy while minimizing processing time through selective evaluation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A permitting system for controlling devices in a system includes a permit issuing agent that receives a command to be sent to a device. Based upon at least one attribute of the command, the permit issuing agent identifies one or more business logic modules that is pertinent to the command. Each business logic module has a respectively different set of business rules associated with it. Each identified business logic module determines whether the command complies with the business rules associated with that module. If the command is determined to comply with the business rules of all of the identified business logic modules, the agent issues a permit for the command, and the permit is sent to the device for execution of the command.