Showcase Scenarios
In order to demonstrate that the Consequence framework meets the needs of users, is technically efficient, is generic across applications, and provides the desired business benefits, the project is driven by two testbed scenarios which will be used to evaluate the results.
Sharing Sensitive Scientific Data
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) hosts large scientific facilities that are used by teams of scientists from around the world to produce data about the structure of materials which can be used in many ways, including to create new products, change industrial methods or identify new drugs. There are many individuals and organisations involved in these processes who make agreements with each other to share the data from the facilities, within specified time limits, and for use particular ways.
However, the agreements are made in different countries where different privacy and data protection laws apply. The different by-partite agreements may conflict with one another or with laws and regulations in the countries where other agreements were made. It is necessary to resolve any conflicts between the agreements in order to produce a consistent set of data sharing policies which can be enforced at a technical level.
The amounts of data involved vary considerably from the a few Megabytes of data about a sample from a laser facility, to Petabytes of data from a particle physics experiment at CERN. Similarly, the constraints on data sharing vary considerably from particle physics data which is open to the community to analyse, to synchrotron analyses of the operation of a possible HIV drug where even the identity of the sample needs to be secure.
The testbed will evaluate the flexibility of the framework to address the variations in data volumes, the variations in data sharing policies, and the efficiency of enforcing the required security, without imposing unnecessary constraints and delays.
Managing Data Communication in Emergency Situations
BAE Systems provide command, control and communications solutions to manage emergency situations in many potential civil and military situations, ranging from chemical tankers over-turning on the roads of busy cities, to air crashes and the spillage of nuclear materials. The emergency response teams that prepare for such eventualities include the normal emergency services of fire, ambulance and police, but also experts in chemical and radiation hazards, the military, and various local authorities and services. These agencies agree in advance to share data in the case of emergencies, but in the event, such data sharing must be limited to those individuals in a each organisation with appropriate need and authority. The authority in a similar incident will change with physical location, and for different incidents it will change with the nature of the emergency.
In a tense emergency situation data sharing must be limited to prevent the overloading of individuals with irrelevant information, as well as to protect the privacy of individuals and the confidentiality of organisations. On the other hand, those making decisions need access to all the required information in the manner appropriate to their decision making. Policies from data sharing agreements must be dynamically instantiated with the location, authority, and technology of individuals to ensure the required availability and usage of data, while preventing unnecessary access or inappropriate usage.