T-CAM: Time-based content access control mechanism for ICN subscription systems

The demand for content usage over the Internet has exponentially increased with the rise in social networking, messaging, and smart devices. The host-centric communication model was not primarily designed for content as its core element, rather it emphasis on the connection between hosts. Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is fast becoming an Internet architecture for content distribution. In ICN, content is located and retrieved dynamically from a source or a cache store, without any binding to the producer host machine. This ICN feature improves the network performances, however, it raises security concerns regarding user or consumer authorization and access control management for private contents. In addition, the privacy of data (and consumers) can be compromised since data are cached away from the producer. To overcome these security challenges, this work proposes a Time-based Content access control Mechanism for subscribed content (T-CAM), which allows access only to authorized subscribers. The scheme allows the content producers to encrypt the content using their unique identities and defined access-time. We utilize identity-based encryption, proxy re-encryption, and broadcast encryption to ensure content dissemination and access management is done securely and effectively. Experimental and comprehensive security evaluation proves the effectiveness and reliability of the scheme.