Database federations have achieved a high degree of sophistication when implementing solutions for data protection and sharing. However, these solutions have fallen short when mobile databases are involved or make part of the federation. Therefore, we are exploring what security issues arise, especially in the area of access controls, when mobile databases are included as part of normal functioning of a database federation. We have focused our attention to the development of a security model for mobile database federations. Currently, we are exploring how a mobile federation would behave under different configurations or scenarios. For instance, we have determined the advantages and pitfalls that arise when a mobile database joins the federation either tightly or loosely. In the former case, the mobile database gives up part of its autonomy and most of its security operations are controlled by a central (distributed) entity. In the latter case, the mobile database retains its autonomy and the federation must synchronize all security activities with it for a correct execution. We have also identified how the federation is affected when mobile users’ access permissions are altered. Moreover, we have analyzed how access right propagation plays a role in keeping the consistency of access permissions between the federation and the mobile database components that have joined it.

For future work, we still have to explore how role-based access is affected when there are mobile users participating in the federation. There is no clear understanding of how the great variety of databases involved in the system affect the system performance and the security policies implemented in the federation. In addition, not much work has been done in the development of strategies that support multi-level security for mobile databases. Finally, it remains to be explored how emerging technologies such as trust-based systems and the World Wide Web are changing the overall picture of security and its implementation for mobile database federations.

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