DKAL is a new expressive declarative authorization language. It is based on existential fixed-point logic. Distributed knowledge is the most conspicuous distinguishing feature of DKAL; in particular it makes DKAL appropriate for user-centric access control. Being inspired by the SecPAL authorization language, DKAL is a considerable improvement over SecPAL. The talk does not presume any particular background in logic or access control.

Dr. Gurevich received his PhD in Mathematics in Russia in 1964. Since 1998, he has been with Microsoft Research in Redmond, WA. He founded where he was founder of the Group on Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE) and where he serves as Principal Researcher. He is a Fellow of ACM, the professional society of computer science. Prior to joining Microsoft Research, he was a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI. His career also includes service at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France, Stanford University and IBM Almaden Research Center, California. From 1978 though 1982, he was a Professor of Mathematics at Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva..