Access control on the Web using proof-carrying authorization

Source: DOI Authors: L. Bauer, M.A. Schneider, E.W. Felten, A.W. Appel Date: 2004

Core idea

A requester can carry machine-checkable proof that an action satisfies the receiver’s local policy, allowing authorization decisions to rest on evidence rather than on opaque trust.

Key claims

• Authorization can be transmitted as a proof object attached to a request.
• The verifier remains sovereign because it checks the proof against its own policy.
• Credentials become useful when they compose into explicit evidence of permission.

Harness takeaway

Sensitive cross-node actions in a harness should prefer evidence-carrying requests: “here is why I may do this” is better than “trust me, my reputation says I’m fine.”