Selecting a security architecture for a new model of distributed tutorial support

Traditional access control models cannot effectively manage authorization for independent and geographically dispersed information. This drives the research interest in more flexible and efficient access control approaches, in particular role-based access control. This report covers both RBAC subfields - theoretical modelling and practical deployment, provides an introduction and overview of role-based access control appropriate for the emerging world of virtual organisations and remote collaboration. We take a specific application area, distributed collaborative tutoring as pioneered in the MANTCHI project, and show the merits of the RBAC architecture for meeting its security requirements.