Decentralized Authorization for Asset Administration Shell-Based Ecosystems

IEEE World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), pp. 1–6

Abstract

The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) serves as a standardized interface for representing and accessing industrial assets, enabling seamless integration within industrial ecosystems. Ensuring secure interconnectivity in such ecosystems requires a robust security framework, including authentication and authorization. Yet, in the AAS context, authorization remains a major challenge, as it lacks full standardization and widespread adoption, particularly in decentralized environments with diverse organizations. To bridge this gap, we propose a decentralized authorization framework leveraging the Extensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) architecture for AAS-based ecosystems. Inspired by AAS security recommendations for access control and AAS reference implementations, our framework enables structured modeling of authorization-related aspects. Furthermore, we demonstrate the application of our framework in industrial manufacturing scenarios, showcasing its effectiveness in securing interactions within a decentralized AAS-based ecosystem. By tackling key authorization challenges, this work contributes to the standardization and practical implementation of security in AAS ecosystems.

Authors 4

1. Jiahang Chen Aachen Institute for Man-Machine Interaction

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University,Institute for Man-Machine Interaction,Aachen,Germany

2. Lennart Schinke Aachen Institute for Man-Machine Interaction

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University,Institute for Man-Machine Interaction,Aachen,Germany

3. Martin Hoppen Aachen Institute for Man-Machine Interaction

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University,Institute for Man-Machine Interaction,Aachen,Germany

4. Jürgen Roßmann Aachen Institute for Man-Machine Interaction

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University,Institute for Man-Machine Interaction,Aachen,Germany