Towards a configurable security architecture

Current security systems are either an integral part of the system they are protecting or a separate module external to the system. This paper describes an architecture for a security system that allows security components to be developed separately from the system they have to protect and then integrated into the system at a later stage. This means an organisation may select the required components based on its needs and ‘plug’ these components into their systems. The paper describes the proposed architecture and demonstrates how it may be used to support various forms of discretionary and mandatory authorisation.