Privacy Protection in Passive Network Monitoring: An Access Control Approach

"On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog" according to the famous Pat Steiner cartoon in The New Yorker, which has been very frequently cited in order to emphasize the potential for anonymity and privacy that the Internet was supposed to offer. However, the reality seems to be rather different. Among the several threats to personal privacy caused by the emerging Information and Communication Technologies, activities related to passive network monitoring hold an outstanding position. This paper discusses from an access control point of view the issue of privacy protection regarding data originating from passive network monitoring. It proposes a semantic information model, along with the underlying enforcement framework, for the real-time determination of access control provisions as stem from the personal data protection legislation and depending on the particular characteristics of every request for monitoring data disclosure.