Design and implementation of a Decentralized Access Control System (DACS) and an application

This document proposes a Decentralized Access Control System (DACS) and presents an implementation of this system. The system aims at enabling any commercial service, e.g. Video on Demand, to verify autonomously and locally users' access rights without relying on a centralized architecture. The DACS was thus designed as simple and efficient decentralized and user-centric authorization infrastructure. In the context of the research project "Mobilizing the Internet", the DACS was integrated and validated in an enhanced version of the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system, proposed by Thales Avionics. Nevertheless, this new approach can also be adapted to networks with loose connectivity and to generic infrastructures offering various services from third party providers, e.g. shopping malls, train stations or airports.