Privacy APIs: Access Control Techniques to Analyze and Verify Legal Privacy Policies

Michael J. May (UPenn), Carl A. Gunter (UIUC), Insup Lee (UPenn)

19th IEEE Computer Security Foundations Workshop (CSFW 2006)

Legislation Privacy Policies

FormalModels

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Privacy Laws

Privacy legislation is global since companies hold/buy/sell/trade personal information everywhere

US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Financial Services Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)(GLB) Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Privacy Act of 1974

EU - Privacy Directive 95/46/EC Australia - Privacy Act 1988

Problems Typically informal, length, complexity Intricately linked rules and references

A formal representation of the permissions, rules, and allowed data flows in legislative text would be helpful

What features are needed for such a representation? We start from the ground up

Privacycommands

Our Approach

Full Text Selection

Reference checking

Command set Model

English English Promela

Select a complex legislative document: HIPAADerive a structured representation, formalize it, and use model checking to evaluate static properties

Policy languages

Policy languages define a set of constructs that can be combined to write a policy The matrix + the policy is the state of the system Policy is often written as a rule set; policy trees or state machines may be used too

Harrison, Ruzzo, and Ullman format to write policy in a rule set Protection Commands for operating systems Primitive operations are transactional changes to the state of the access control

matrix (ex. Enter right, create object) Commands are combinations of primitive operations with optional guards

Originator Control (ORCON) [Graubart89] policy for controlling information

Rule: Only the owner of an object can grant permission on itcommand grant (from, to, object, right)if owner in (from, object)then enter right in (to, object)

Rule: A permission that is starred is transferablecommand transfer (from, to, object, right)if right* in (from, object)then enter right in (to, object)

Privacy Commands

UserSensitive files

Request Files

Files

Authentication

Privacy Commands

UserSensitive files

RequestRoles

Logging

Access Rules

Obligations

Notification

Agents

Conditions

Privacy API

Access

Files

Obligations

Privacy Systems [GMS04]

Events Set policy event: p sets on q for r at t Creation event: p creates x at t Publish/subscribe event: p gets x from q at t Action event: p does a on q at t

Notation: Objects x, y, z O Principals p, q, r P Permissions Actions a, b, c A Time t Each object x has a subject subj(x) that the object is “about”

and a creation time ct(x) when it was made Null object and null principal P

What do we need for legal texts? Tools to add to the system

Logging Notification

Policy concepts to add Actor, Originator Object tags Environmental evidence

Concretization Policy language that implements them Language that reflects the way operations are done Policy that can inspect and modify the content of objects

Result: Auditable Privacy Systems

Conditions and Obligations

Level 1: Can be evaluated/enforced from the matrix state Alice may use Bob’s email address to send him messages if he has given

consent for online communications Alice may use her right to email Bob only once

Level 2: Can be evaluated/enforced from matrix state plus parameters passed (e.g. purpose, environment flags) Alice can’t use Bob’s email address for marketing communications unless he

has given consent for it Alice may use her right to email Bob, but she must make a note of it in the

system log Level 3: Can’t be evaluated/enforced by the system

Alice can use Bob’s email address for communicating with him if he has not responded to phone calls and Alice has reason to believe he has changed his phone number

Alice may use her right to email Bob, but must then mail him a letter with the same content

Environment flags and testimonials Environment flags help with Level 2

Let the system communicate information about the environment to the policy

Can be Boolean flags, numbers, etc. Are easily codified in policy text Conditions check the flags, obligations modify them

Testimonials are needed for Level 3 Actors make assertions about things in the environment Conditions check them via flags, may log them Obligations communicate back to the user, may notify

Conditions example

164.506(a)(3)(i) A covered health care provider may, without prior consent, use or disclose protected health information created or received under paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A)-(C) of this section to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations: …(C) If a covered health care provider attempts to obtain such consent from the individual but is unable to obtain such consent due to substantial barriers to communicating with the individual, and the covered health care provider determines, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the individual's consent to receive treatment is clearly inferred from the circumstances. [HIPAA, 2003]

L2 – data origination tracking and purpose

Conditions example

164.506(a)(3)(i) A covered health care provider may, without prior consent, use or disclose protected health information created or received under paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A)-(C) of this section to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations: …(C) If a covered health care provider attempts to obtain such consent from the individual but is unable to obtain such consent due to substantial barriers to communicating with the individual, and the covered health care provider determines, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the individual's consent to receive treatment is clearly inferred from the circumstances. [HIPAA, 2003]

L3 – Provider has attempted to obtain consent but can’t

Conditions example

164.506(a)(3)(i) A covered health care provider may, without prior consent, use or disclose protected health information created or received under paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A)-(C) of this section to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations: …(C) If a covered health care provider attempts to obtain such consent from the individual but is unable to obtain such consent due to substantial barriers to communicating with the individual, and the covered health care provider determines, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the individual's consent to receive treatment is clearly inferred from the circumstances. [HIPAA, 2003]

L3 - Provider in professional judgment

Privacy commands

Policy atoms are privacy commands akin to HRU commands Some commands may have no side effects, just check conditions

We add some primitive operations to the set for matrix operations from HRU Checking purpose, inspecting environmental evidence flags

References

Rule: Copying an object with ORCON rulescommand CopyObject (a, s, o, o‘)if originator in (a, o)and subject in (s, o)then create object o'and enter originator in (a, o‘)and enter subject in (s, o‘)end

Rule: Creating an object with Originator Control (ORCON) rulescommand CreateObject (a, s, o)create object oand enter originator in (a,o) and enter subject in (s,o) end

Privacy APIs

A set of commands in our Privacy Commands syntax combines to make a Privacy API (auditable policy interface) Set must be closed under references (no outside or

unresolved references) Commands can be “private” so users can not access them

Perform low level system functions such as copy, create object, modify object, etc.

Policy evaluation Single command execution: an actor invokes a command

to execute it Evaluation can be command driven or interactive

Translation steps

Full Text Selection

Reference checking

Command set Model

English English Privacycommands

Promela

AllowedAsIn506c1 (a, s, r, p, f, evidence)If “own use”' in pand isTPO(p)then return trueelse return falseendDisclose506c1 (a, s, r, p, f, evidence)if AllowedAsIn506c1 (a, s, r, p, f, evidence) and own in (a, f)then CopyObject (a, s, f, f')and insert own in (r, f')and EnterDisclose (a, p, f)endUse506c1 (a, s, r, p, f, evidence) …isTPO (p)if “treatment'' in por “payment'' in por “healthcare operations'' in p…

Example: Own use clause

164.506(c)(1): A covered entity may use or disclose protected health information for its own treatment, payment, or health care operations. [HIPAA 2003]

f is a file of protected health informationAgents a, s, r

a is an officer of a covered entity (hospital, doctor’s office, etc)r is the intended recipients is the subject of the filep is a set of purpose flagsevidence is a set of environment flags

CopyObject (a, s, o, o')…

Example: Testimonials

164.506(a)(3)(i) A covered health care provider may, without prior consent, use or disclose protected health information created or received under paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A)-(C) of this section to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations: …(C) If a covered health care provider attempts to obtain such consent from the individual but is unable to obtain such consent due to substantial barriers to communicating with the individual, and the covered health care provider determines, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the individual's consent to receive treatment is clearly inferred from the circumstances.

AsIn506a3iC (a, s, r, f, evidence)if attempted in (a, f)and consent not in (s, f) and “barriers to communication” in evidence and “professional judgment” in evidencethen return trueelse return falseend

Creating the rule sets

Using above techniques we translated one section (164.506) on consent for disclosure 2000 and 2003 versions of the rules very different Chasing references lead to including a large section

of text Rules designed to follow the structure of the law

closely Semi-automation of the process in the future

Rule set size 2000: 60 + 5 helper = 65 rules 2003: 21 + 33 (by ref) + 5 helper = 59 rules

Privacycommands

Translation steps

Full Text Selection

Reference checking

Command set Model

English English Promela

Verification using the rule sets We use SPIN to find the problems previously

detected by manual inspection. Comments on the 2000 version consent rules lead to a complete rework in the 2003 version Ex: Ambulance workers must obtain consent for services

they did for unconscious patients after the fact Ex: Hospitals which usually do pre-operation preparations

before procedures can not do so without the patient coming to sign a special designator

Ex: Doctors who render remote diagnoses can not do so without having a special paper consent form sent or faxed to them first.

Example property check

Property: Can a doctor see a patient record for treatment, payment, or health care operations without consent in a non-emergency situation?

Invariant: No health care provider can access a patient record in a non-emergency situation without first gaining consent or obtaining it afterward

File f about Paula (patient). Dan (doctor) can not gain any access permissions on f without getting consent from Paula first (or after the fact in case of inability to gain consent at first).

/* initialize the matrix *//* Dan is a doctor */m.mat[Dan].obj[health_care_provider_group].membe

r=1;

/* Paula is a patient and the subject of file1*/m.mat[Paula].obj[file1].subject = 1;

/* Dan has the file in his system - he owns it */m.mat[Dan].obj[file1].own = 1;

p.treatment=1; p.payment=1; p.healthcare_operations=1;

/* set evidences */ evidence.emergency = 0; …

/* check if Dan can get access to the file*/ invariant = (m.mat[Dan].obj[file1].treat == 0) &&

(m.mat[Dan].obj[file1].pay == 0) && (m.mat[Dan].obj[file1].healthops == 0) && (m.mat[Dan].obj[f_new].treat == 0) && (m.mat[Dan].obj[f_new].pay == 0) && (m.mat[Dan].obj[f_new].healthops == 0);

Related Work

Access control HRU’s checking of safety properties Fisler, et al’s Margrave for XACML

Digital Rights Management ODRL XrML [ContentGuard] Formal properties [Guth, et al][Weissman, et al]

Privacy policies EPAL [IBM], P3P [W3C] Formal properties [Yu, et al][Hayati and Abadi 04] [Karjoth, Schunter,

Backes, Powers, et al @ IBM 02-04] Contextual Integrity [Barth, et al 06]

Conclusion

Using access control techniques to understand legal privacy regulations Model of operations on private data and allowed information

flows Translating one to the other reveals similarities between them Differences require us to rethink some theories of access

control to usage control and disclosure control Success in modeling the sections of the regulation that have

to do with uses and disclosures Some sections are not addressable Ex: Typographical rules for writing a privacy practices

declarations Research goal is to use formal models to better understand

the implementation and evolution of regulations Of course input from legal experts is necessary

References

Carl A. Gunter, Michael J. May, and Stuart Stubblebine. A Formal Privacy System and its Application to Location Based Services.  Privacy Enhancing Technologies 2004.

UPenn IR2FM [http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~rtg/extract-fm/index.php3] UIUC Formal Privacy [http://seclab.uiuc.edu/formalprivacy/]