Automatic Generation of Smart, Security-Aware GUI Models

In many software applications, users access application data using graphical user interfaces (GUIs). There is an important, but little explored, link between visualization and security: when the application data is protected by an access control policy, the GUI should be aware of this and respect the policy. For example, the GUI should not display options to users for actions that they are not authorized to execute on application data. Taking this idea one step further, the application GUI should not just be security-aware, it should also be smart. For example, the GUI should not display options to users for opening other widgets when these widgets will only display options for actions that the users are not authorized to execute on application data. We establish this link between visualization and security using a model-driven development approach. Namely, we define and implement a many-models-to-model transformation that, given a security-design model and a GUI model, makes the GUI ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: ESSOS
• Authors: David A. Basin, Manuel Clavel, Marina Egea, Michael Schläpfer
• Keywords: Application Data, Application Gui, ESSOS 2010, GUI Model, Software Engineering