What Is a Role-Based Access Control Strategy

Whether your organization utilizes only a handful of SaaS applications or, like many companies, uses over 100 different apps, it’s important to understand the potential security vulnerabilities each presents—and to put proactive systems in place for preventing unauthorized or fraudulent access. 

Role-based access control (RBAC) is a popular methodology for assigning permissions based on user roles. By grouping users into role-based groups, implementing appropriate access controls and permissions, and adhering to common role-based access control best practices, companies can simplify their operations and keep their most important assets secure. 

What Is a Role-Based Access Control Strategy Used For?

The primary purpose of RBAC is to ensure that the people who need access to certain apps, systems, and resources are able to access them—while unauthorized users (or roles) are denied access. Through the effective implementation of principles like least privilege and separation of duties, RBAC helps to streamline operations, reduce software costs, and enhance overall security.

What Are the Elements of an Access Control Strategy?

An RBAC strategy centers around rules that define who should be able to access a given app, system, or resource—as well as the extent to which they should be able to interact with each. 

Most companies, for example, maintain a database of customer information. Within the organization, database administrators need to be able to add to, edit, or delete—while users in other roles may simply require “view only” access. By limiting “edit” access to administrators only, it reduces the risk that the information within the database can be accessed by unauthorized parties or otherwise compromised.

Breaking things down further, there are three core elements that define “access control”:

• Role Assignment: Before access controls can be implemented and applied, each user must be assigned to a defined role—this enables administrators to apply permissions on a group level, which can save a lot of time and energy (especially in the largest organizations).

• Role Authorization: Each defined “user role” must be appropriately validated—and each user who is to be assigned to a given role must similarly be authorized for that role.

• Permission Authorization: Once users have been authorized and assigned roles, specific access controls can be implemented. All users within a given role receive the same permissions and authorizations, which can then be modified or adjusted over time.

Next, let’s explore what these elements look like within the context of a basic role-based access control example.

What Is an Example of a Simple RBAC Strategy?

While no two RBAC strategies will be identical, they all share a basic concept and shared goals related to efficiency and security. Consider the following role-based access control example for database access and management:

1. Clarify your objectives and priorities. In the context of database management, for example, the top priorities are likely related to accessibility and security. In other words, employees in many different roles may need access to view the database—but from a security standpoint, only administrators need to be able to add, delete, or update the data.

2. Define roles based on job functions and responsibilities. The way an organization defines roles directly impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of role-based access control implementation. The idea is to group people together by their roles, and to find the right balance between delineating roles with different needs and creating categories or role groups that are too broad.

3. Assign users to roles. Once clear roles have been defined, individual users need to be assigned to relevant roles. Note that in many cases, especially in more complex organizations, individual users may be assigned to multiple roles.

4. Grant permissions. With clearly defined roles—and role assignments—administrators can set detailed permissions. It’s important to point out that in some cases, RBAC on its own may not sufficiently delineate roles and align them with specific controls and permissions—in which case the role definitions may need to be revisited, or it might be necessary to implement additional control types. 

For example, leveraging attribute-based access control in tandem with RBAC gives administrators a more granular level of control over how key apps, systems, and resources are being accessed.

RBAC: The Impact of Getting It Right

When properly implemented—and aligned with role-based access control best practices—an effective approach to RBAC can have a profound impact on companies’ efficiency, security, audit-readiness and more. 

The Lumos platform empowers administrators with the insights and customization capabilities they need to establish and maintain the level of security required to protect key apps, systems, and resources while streamlining operations and reducing costs. 

To learn more about the impact of RBAC strategy implementation with Lumos, we recommend reading some of the customer stories on our website. Ready to see the platform in action? Scheduling a demo with our team only takes a moment!