Access control in cybersecurity

What is access control?

Access control is the security process of restricting access to and use of resources within an IT environment and is essential to an organization’s overall security posture. By limiting access to key resources to only those individuals who need it to perform their responsibilities, organizations reduce their attack surface and lower the risk of data compromise.

While access control is conceptually similar to physical access control, which governs entry to resources like on-premises infrastructure or similar tangible assets, access control in cybersecurity applies specifically to digital systems and data.

Why is access control important?

Without reliable security access controls, sensitive information can fall into the wrong hands, leading to financial loss, reputational damage, and potential legal consequences.

Effective access control helps prevent unauthorized data access from both internal and external sources, reducing the risk of insider threats, breaches, and data leaks. Access control management also helps organizations act in accordance with data protection best practices, supporting compliance with major regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001.

Restricting access also aligns closely with other foundational security principles. The principle of least privilege, which limits user permissions to the minimum required for their role, is directly supported by access control in network security. Zero trust is also effectively supported by cybersecurity access control by providing an additional means to verify or restrict users as required. The famous rule of ‘need to know, right to know’ cannot be implemented without access control.

Access control systems play a role in supporting hybrid and remote work models as well by enabling distributed workforces to collaborate and access necessary resources while preventing unauthorized access.

In environments that support remote work or BYOD policies, effective access control helps enforce consistent security controls across endpoints and applications.

Key components of access control

At its most effective, an access control system consists of the following core components:

• Authentication: Verifies user identities by validating credentials against a centralized identity store.
• Authorization: Assigns access rights based on a user’s verified identity, role, or attributes.
• Access: Limits a user’s interaction with data and systems according to defined access control policies.
• Management: Maintains accurate access by updating policies and aligning identities through automated user provisioning and deprovisioning.
• Auditing: Session monitoring and automated access logs provide continuous visibility into access activity to support investigations and forensic readiness.

These elements combine to streamline and simplify access control management, automating as many procedures as possible to simultaneously save SOC teams time and effort while preventing manual errors.

Types of access control models

Access control in cybersecurity is typically deployed according to one of the following models:

Discretionary Access Control (DAC)

The most basic and flexible access control management model, DAC specifies that the owner of any given resource on a server can decide what other users may access it. This method can be helpful for highly collaborative organizations that require frequent access to resources, but it can also pose risks if used to safeguard sensitive data as it leaves restrictions up to individual discretion rather than cybersecurity best practices.

Mandatory Access Control (MAC)

Under the MAC access control system, access to resources is restricted by a central authority such as a system administrator, who designates which resources can be viewed by which users. This form of mandatory access control is more common in contexts where stricter security is required, such as government or military purposes.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

One of the most prominent access control models, RBAC restricts data access based on the user's role within the organization and what resources that role requires for regular responsibilities. Any data that isn't absolutely necessary for those duties is prohibited under this model to minimize attack surface.

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)

ABAC determines access rights for verified users based on their role as well as other attributes, such as the exact resource being accessed, the physical location of the accessing device, the time of day, and so on. While this makes ABAC similar to RBAC, it also enables ABAC to offer more granular access controls, restricting or enabling access based on job function as well as broader contextual circumstances.

Rule-Based Access Control

Also similar to role-based access control, Rule-Based Access Control limits access to resources based on centralized access control rules set by the organization. These rules may specify restrictions based on location, device type, time of access, or other variable conditions.

Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC)

PBAC controls access to digital resources by assigning a set of access control policies to each user determining what files they may access. It's distinct from other rule- or policy-based access control models because these policies are assigned to users rather than established on a site-wide level, so they can be altered or updated without extensive audits or changes to user roles.

Break-Glass Access Control

As the imagery of alarm devices suggests, Break-Glass Access Control is an emergency protocol that enables a privileged user to instantly access restricted data. This measure adds flexibility to access control management by providing authenticated users with reliable access to sensitive resources. However, a backdoor to confidential data might pose risks, so it's especially critical to thoroughly document the policy to avoid confusion and enforce strict authentication measures like MFA.

While many of these access control models feature overlap, most are distinct enough that organizations may wish to utilize multiple protections to prevent unauthorized access to different network resources.

How access control works

The question of "what are access controls?" is perhaps most easily answered by breaking down the actual steps behind access control management. Typically, the process involves the following stages:

• The user inputs login credentials and is verified as a specific individual logged into a centralized database.
• The system checks access control policy to verify what permissions the user may be granted.
• The user is issued specific permissions according to the established access control policy.

As a key concept in cybersecurity, access control can be integrated with other identity and access management (IAM) protocols to establish further protections. Implementing MFA is a highly effective way to strengthen the authentication process, and this can be easily required for initial logins. More extensive directory-based verification measures, like SAML or LDAP, can also be implemented during authentication for more stringent controls.

While access control policy should typically be comprehensive, organizations can improve upon its protections by requiring continuous authentication through token expiration or automatic logouts. On the other hand, it can also be helpful to augment access control policy with exceptions specifying scenarios where contextual access can be granted, which better ensures sensitive data can be viewed as needed in emergencies or urgent contexts.

Physical vs. logical access control

Asking "what is access control in security?" can prompt two answers, as "access control" can refer to controls in physical and digital (logical) contexts. However, logical access control in network security isn't the same thing as physical access control.

Physical access control concerns restricting access to physical IT resources, such as on-site data centers or computers. Specific measures for this control may include expected security measures like cameras or automated door locks, and measures to identify users may include key fobs, keypad PINs, or biometric readers. Physical access control is often managed together with or solely by Facility Management.

Logical access control in cybersecurity, on the other hand, deals exclusively with restricting access to digital resources within an IT environment. While it may also use key fobs, keypads, PINs, or biometric readers, these control access to digital resources only. As such, logical access control management deals primarily with setting effective network policy rather than controlling access to any actual devices or servers.

Challenges in access control

As a comprehensive, organization-wide policy, access control may not always be simple to implement. Expansive cloud environments or distributed servers can be especially difficult to manage due to their complicated layout, and remote access may not be immediately available for every endpoint device, particularly in organizations that feature greater device diversity through BYOD.

The various departments in your organization may also complicate access controls if they maintain separate records of personnel, potentially creating identity silos wherein certain packets of identity data don't interact with one another. Think of data sets stored with HR, Facility Management (m.a.) and IT and how difficult it can be for an organization to consolidate between these. Individual users may even create issues if they begin to experience "password fatigue," a state of exhaustion where users repeat passwords or create insecure ones as a response to constantly having to provide or reset passwords.

With these or any other challenges present, however, it's crucial that organizations maintain consistency and visibility in access controls for more reliable protections. Even in distributed or complex environments, controls must be applied uniformly and with enough transparency for users to understand their individual access privileges. Inconsistent or otherwise unclear access controls can lead to staff confusion, which may impede productivity or even encourage users to find unsecured back-end ways to access resources.

Data visibility and risk posture with DSPM

When establishing access controls, the first and perhaps most important step is to assess your digital environment, all the data within it, and the current access policy protecting that information. Manually accounting for all these resources, however, is not only tedious but highly problematic, as organizations frequently have substantial amounts of "shadow data" that goes unseen in a typical search.

This is where Netwrix Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) comes in. A comprehensive tool to manage risks around your environment's data, DSPM automates system surveillance to discover and classify all resources in your digital environment. By cataloging all your sensitive data—including lesser-seen shadow data hidden within environments—DSPM provides comprehensive insight into the most vulnerable resources on your server as well as a clear rundown of who can and cannot access it.

With this visibility, IT teams can use DSPM to augment or implement IAM policy through a clear understanding of who has access to what resources, why, and whether they should continue to hold that privilege. DSPM even offers streamlined support for specific compliance initiatives to further strengthen access control with regulatory best practices.

Because access management is an ongoing process, DSPM is also built for continuous improvement through automated real-time risk assessment that sweeps for potential vulnerabilities and threats across cloud and hybrid environments. These findings are analyzed by the software into actionable insights and recommendations to reduce access-related threats, effectively supporting SOC team efforts with personalized guidance.

Modern access control solutions

Today's access control management solutions are often available as IAM platforms, combining access control with the related field of identity management. Other options include cloud access security brokers (CASBs), which function as a security checkpoint between cloud service providers and enterprise cloud users, and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) models that constantly require authentication from users. Centralized directories storing user databases and policy controls are another more straightforward model.

Regardless of the tool responsible for access management, it's critical that it feature a self-service portal for users. This feature typically offers automated ways for users to input password reset requests, just-in-time access elevations, or other requests routine enough for software to handle instead of IT professionals.

A newly emerging solution category in access control is data security posture management (DSPM). Rather than function as an intermediary between users and server environments, DSPM emphasizes identifying potential dangers to digital resources by scanning systems and highlighting access threats, risky user behavior, and other vulnerabilities.

Example software includes Netwrix Data Security Posture Management. A comprehensive solution for bridging gaps in data visibility and effective access control, Netwrix DSPM automates the processes of identifying data within an IT environment, verifying current access rules for those resources, and highlighting potential threats to data inside and outside the system perimeter.

The role of zero trust in access control

Security access controls innately complement zero trust policy as a way of requiring constant verification to access data. Under zero trust, access controls must require verification for every access request, substantially reducing the risk of an adversary gaining access to confidential resources. This establishes a policy of "never trust, always verify" within and without your security perimeter for a stronger security posture overall.

Implementing zero trust measures as part of access control allows for more context-aware policies based on the circumstances of each individual access attempt, granting organizations microsegmentation in their security controls. Netwrix supports zero trust strategies across all solutions by empowering IT teams to require verification under numerous scenarios, especially access attempts, so that individual security policies can be as detailed as required for each organization.

Best practices for implementing access control

Implementing and maintaining access control is an ongoing process that can take fine-tuning to perfect. An essential first step is to implement MFA to strengthen authentication measures and enforce least privilege restrictions to minimize attack surfaces of any sensitive resources. User accounts shouldn't be shared, nor should joint user accounts be created, and policies should confer only as many rights as the individual user requires to prevent over-privileged accounts from arising.

All access control policies must be named in a standardized format to facilitate documentation and policy review. These reviews should occur regularly to continuously monitor your system for vulnerabilities and potential improvements; regular audits are also a must for these purposes as well as to confirm your organization's compliance.

However, leave room for exceptions in your access control policy in case of emergency. In the event management or senior figures require immediate access to sensitive resources, it's crucial to have break-glass measures to instantly grant users the necessary rights. These policies should be especially well documented and defined to prevent them from becoming a backdoor for adversaries instead.

Netwrix Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) is a highly effective solution for achieving these best practices, automatically discovering hidden risks within your environment and automating oversight through constant surveillance and logging. By saving SOC teams time and effort as well as by granting visibility into all parts of your digital environment, DSPM instantly enhances access control with greater efficiency and applicable data insights.

Access control use cases by industry

While access control is crucial for all organizations, different industries will implement it in different ways:

• Healthcare: Healthcare entities are required to follow strict data security requirements to comply with HIPAA, making access control an essential measure to protect patient files and any identifying information in databases.
• Financial institutions: Financial institutions must comply with PCI DSS as well as SOX, and thus they often use access control to more effectively protect users' financial information without restricting access from authorized parties.
• Government: Government bodies employ strict access control methods to safeguard sensitive data according to the highest security standards, with access granted according to MAC or clearance level.
• Enterprise IT: Enterprise IT environments enable interdepartmental or distributed collaboration while preventing unauthorized access through a combination of IAM and DSPM solutions.
• Education: Educational organizations safeguard personally identifiable information for students using access controls that prevent unrelated or external parties from viewing data.

Regardless of industry, all organizations have sensitive data they simply can't afford to let leak, and effective access control is essential to keeping that data secure.

Conclusion

Whether it's customer financial data, internal employee identities, or company secrets, confidential data must remain confidential for any organization. With the appropriate access controls in place, those resources can be reliably protected without obstructing staff responsibilities.

As we've seen, however, the question of "what are access controls?" has different answers depending on the nature of each organization and the resources it needs to protect. Deploying effective access control management at your organization will therefore require first considering which model best fits your specific security and regulatory needs. For example, a healthcare organization can benefit from the granular controls of ABAC, but federal contractors may benefit more from the stricter rules of the MAC model.

For any deployment, data security posture management can significantly elevate access control security through detailed insight into sensitive data and its vulnerabilities. Netwrix Data Security Posture Management in particular adds a critical layer of intelligence and visibility, making access control strategies smarter, more compliant, and risk-aware.

Strong access control protects sensitive data without slowing the business. With Netwrix DSPM, teams can identify sensitive data, understand where access is overexposed, and prioritize fixes across cloud and hybrid environments. The result is clearer visibility, tighter access decisions, and stronger support for compliance and risk reduction.