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Controlled query evaluation with open queries for a decidable relational submodel

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Abstract

Controlled query evaluation for logic-oriented information systems provides a model for the dynamic enforcement of confidentiality policies in scenarios where users are able to reason about a priori knowledge and the answers to previous queries. Previous foundational work assumes that the control mechanism can solve the arising implication problems and deals only with closed queries. In this paper, we overcome these limitations by refining the abstract model for appropriately represented relational databases. We identify a relational submodel where all instances share a fixed infinite Herbrand domain but have finite base relations, and we require finite and domain-independent query results. Then, via suitable syntactic restrictions on the policy and query languages, each occurring implication problem can be equivalently expressed as a universal validity problem within the Bernays-Schönfinkel class, whose (known) decidability in the classical setting is extended to our framework. For refusal and lying, we design and verify evaluation methods for open queries, exploiting controlled query evaluation of appropriate sequences of closed queries, which include answer completeness tests. Additionally, we present alternative evaluation methods that work for lying and the combined approach but at the price of potentially reduced cooperativeness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Informatik, Universität Dortmund, 44221, Dortmund, Germany

    Joachim Biskup

  2. Università di Napoli “Frederico II”, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Piero Bonatti

Authors
  1. Joachim Biskup
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  2. Piero Bonatti
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Correspondence to Joachim Biskup.

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Biskup, J., Bonatti, P. Controlled query evaluation with open queries for a decidable relational submodel. Ann Math Artif Intell 50, 39–77 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10472-007-9070-5

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