Trusted Access to Sensitive Information in a Diverse Services Environment

Mobile application service providers are trying to strike a balance between offering personalized services and safeguarding user privacy. Being able to offer targeted and relevant services requires access to sensitive user information, such as health records, financial transactions, preferences, and location. Users, on the other hand, are reluctant to allow access to their sensitive information when no mechanisms are in place to ensure the proper usage of this information. In this paper, we describe TASER, a trusted gateway between service providers and sensitive information owners. TASER ensures that only authorized and reputable service providers are given access to sensitive information required by their services for users that have opted-in to such services.