Secure web-based retrieval of documents with usage controls

Usage controls enable the provider of some information to limit how recipients may use it. Usage controls may be desirable in enterprise environments, e.g., for regulatory compliance or to protect intellectual property in collaborative endeavors. We contribute Web protocol, server, and browser modifications for hardening existing software-based usage controls (e.g., PDF’s) with Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs). TPMs are low-cost secure coprocessors present in an increasing number of computers. We use the TPM to prevent untrusted software from opening usage-controlled files. We implemented the proposed solution on Linux by adding a Linux Security Module to the kernel and modifying Apache and Firefox. No modifications are necessary in applications used for authoring and displaying usage-controlled files (e.g., OpenOffice and xpdf). Experiments show that the proposed scheme has modest impact on client response time and server CPU utilization. Categories and Subject Descriptors C.2....

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: SAC
• Authors: Peter Djalaliev, José Carlos Brustoloni
• Keywords: Applied Computing, SAC 2009, Software-based Usage Controls, Trusted Platform Module, Usage Controls