Secure Zones: An Attribute-Based Encryption advisory system for safe firearms

TL;DR

This paper proposes a secure, attribute-based encryption system for firearms that enables safe operation within designated zones by transmitting policies and user attributes to embedded firearm hardware.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of attribute-based encryption for firearm safety, including a cyber-physical model with sensors and context-aware software for real-time safety advisories.

Findings

Secure Zones effectively encode policies using attribute-based encryption.

Cyber-physical firearm model enhances safety through sensor data and context awareness.

Proposed key infrastructure supports secure policy distribution and management.

Abstract

This work presents an application of the highly expressive Attribute-Based Encryption to implement Secure Zones for firearms. Within these zones, radio-transmitted local policies based on attributes of the user and the firearm are received by embedded hardware in the firearms, which then advises the user about safe operations. The Secure Zones utilize Attribute-Based Encryption to encode the policies and user attributes, and providing privacy and security through it cryptography. We describe a holistic approach to evolving the firearm to a cyber-physical system to aid in augmenting safety. We introduce a conceptual model for a firearm equipped with sensors and a context-aware software agent. Based on the information from the sensors, the agent can access the context and inform the user of potential unsafe operations. To support Secure Zones and the cyber-physical firearm model, we propose a Key Infrastructure Scheme for key generation, distribution, and management, and a Context-Aware Software Agent Framework for Firearms.