A Cloud and IoT-Based Secure Data Sharing Model for Smart Homes and Cyber-Physical Systems

Abstract

Privacy-aware Cloud-IoT architectures, such as DataBank, allow data owners to define their own privacy policies to control data sharing, however, these systems have not been designed specifically for smart home environments. In the context of Smart Home IoT simplicity is key, as user studies show that users seldom engage with lengthy policies, despite being concerned about data privacy. The main contributions of this paper are twofold: (i) the development of a data-sharing model for Smart Home IoT, and (ii) the design of a graph-based policy framework to govern interactions among data, devices, and services within this context. We chose a category-based model for policy definition since categorisation is a natural cognitive mechanism. To validate the proposed model, we implemented a prototype that illustrates how graph-based policies facilitate the visualisation and analysis of smart home policies. The prototype’s user interface enables individuals who are not security experts to create personalised privacy policies by specifying a limited set of preference settings. Participants in a user study were asked to interact with the prototype and subsequently complete a structured questionnaire to evaluate its usability and performance. Approximately 90% of participants found the tool helpful in configuring privacy policies and expressed satisfaction with its overall performance. The feature most appreciated by users was the policy analysis function, which aids in understanding the implications of selected privacy preferences. In conclusion, the proposed data sharing model and tool demonstrate potential in assisting users with the creation and interpretation of privacy policies in smart homes. While the focus of this paper is on Cloud and IoT-based Smart Homes, the concepts and technologies can be applied to various cyber physical systems such as Smart Transportation Systems and Smart Digital Healthcare Systems.