Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
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Functional
: Access Control focuses only on the enforcement of authoriza-
tion policies, while DRM covers several aspects related to the management of
authorization policies
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Policy domain
: The Access Control authorization policies lose their semantics
and validity once the digital objects leave the information system, while the
digital rights have system independent semantics and legal validity
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Enforcement extent
: DRM focuses on persistent protection of rights, as it
remains in force wherever the content goes, while a digital content that is pro-
tected by an information system's Access Control mechanism loses its protection
once it leaves the system
Keeping the above characteristics in mind, it can be recognized that both Access
Control and Digital Rights Management are needed to govern the access adminis-
tration of OAIS archive holdings. Moreover, both aspects are subjected to changes
over time, which need proper attention in order to preserve the access policies that
protect the digital holdings.
The interface would have to cover, amongst other things:
1. DRM policy creation
2. Recognition of rights
3. Assertion of rights
4. Expression of rights
5. DRM policy projection
6. Dissemination of rights
7. Exposure of rights
8. Enforcement of rights
9. DRM security and cryptography
10. Access Control technologies
Access Control policies are defined and are valid within the archival information
system.
There may be access restrictions on Content Information that are of different
natures: copyright protection, privacy law, as well as further Producer's instructions.
The Producer might wish to allow access only under the condition that some admin-
istrative policies are respected (e.g. defining a group of authorized Consumers, or
specifying minimum requirements to be met by enforcement measures).
In the long term, the “maintenance” of all such information within the archive
(and between archives) becomes “preservation of administrative information”. In
fact, the administrative aspects related to the content access may be subject to some
modifications in the long term due to legislative changes, technology evolution, and
events that influence the semantics of access policies.
In the updated OAIS the administrative information is held as part of the
Preservation Description Information (PDI), as “Access Rights Information” infor-
mation. It identifies the access restrictions pertaining to the Content Information,
