Edge Computing for IoT: Novel Insights from a Comparative Analysis of Access Control Models

TL;DR

This paper provides a comparative analysis of access control models in IoT edge computing, organized by data lifecycle stages and blockchain integration, highlighting challenges and future research directions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel organization of access control measures based on data lifecycle stages and includes blockchain technology, offering new insights into IoT edge security.

Findings

Organized access control models by data lifecycle stages.

Reviewed blockchain's role in IoT edge access control.

Identified research gaps and future directions.

Abstract

IoT edge computing positions computing resources closer to the data sources to reduce the latency, relieve the bandwidth pressure on the cloud, and enhance data security. Nevertheless, data security in IoT edge computing still faces critical threats (e.g., data breaches). Access control is fundamental for mitigating these threats. However, IoT edge computing introduces notable challenges for achieving resource-conserving, low-latency, flexible, and scalable access control. To review recent access control measures, we novelly organize them according to different data lifecycles--data collection, storage, and usage--and, meanwhile, review blockchain technology in this novel organization. In this way, we provide novel insights and envisage several potential research directions. This survey can help readers find gaps systematically and prompt the development of access control techniques in IoT edge computing under the intricacy of innovations in access control.