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Access Control Strategies Overview

This document discusses access controls which selectively restrict access to assets and systems through physical, logical, and administrative controls. It describes strategies like mandatory access control (MAC), discretionary access control (DAC), and role-based access control (RBAC) as well as the concepts of identification, authentication, authorization, and accountability. The types of access controls are identified as preventive, deterrent, detective, corrective, recovery, and compensative.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
86 views1 page

Access Control Strategies Overview

This document discusses access controls which selectively restrict access to assets and systems through physical, logical, and administrative controls. It describes strategies like mandatory access control (MAC), discretionary access control (DAC), and role-based access control (RBAC) as well as the concepts of identification, authentication, authorization, and accountability. The types of access controls are identified as preventive, deterrent, detective, corrective, recovery, and compensative.
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© All Rights Reserved
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CS 232

ACCESS CONTROLS

Access Controls
- selective restriction of access to an asset or a system/network resource
- protects information assets

Categories:
1. Physical : actual barriers to prevent unauthorized access.
a) Ex. Fences, Guards, Motion Detectors, Alarms, Cards, Biometrics,
Video Cams.
2. Logical : hardware & software solutions used to manage access to resources and systems.
3. Administrative : policies and procedures defined by organizations to implement and enforce
all aspects of unauthorized access.
Strategies:
1. Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
: restricts actions that a subject can perform on an object
: different levels of security classifications exist
2. Discretionary Access Control (DAC) : grants or restricts object access determined by the
objects owner.
3. Role-Based Access Control
: depends on the role of the subject
: can work in combination with DAC/MAC by enforcing the policies of
either one.
: helps implement security administration
: uses Access Control List (ACL’s) - contains series of rules
: based on job functions
Identification - enforces the rules established by the authorization policy
Identification Controls - sensitivity of information and information systems
Federated Identity Management - uses same identification credentials to gain access.

1. AUTHENTICATION
2. AUTHORIZATION
3. ACCOUNTABILITY

Types of Access Controls


1. Preventive - stop unwanted or unauthorized activity
2. Deterrent - limit/mitigate an action or behavior but do not stop them
3. Detective - alert system operators of potential unauthorized access.
4. Corrective - restore system back to a state of confidentiality, integrity and availability ; can
also restore systems to normal
5. Recovery - return to a normal state after violation of security policy
6. Compensative - make up for something ; provide options

Common questions

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Federated Identity Management simplifies access controls in a multi-organization environment by allowing users to use a single set of identification credentials to gain access to resources across different systems and networks. This reduces the need for multiple authentication processes for each organization’s systems and enhances user experience while reducing administrative overhead. By maintaining a single identity source, organizations can enforce consistent access policies, improve security, and streamline access management .

Implementing a comprehensive access control strategy that includes physical, logical, and administrative controls presents several challenges for an organization. Ensuring seamless integration between the different types of controls can be complex, as each has distinct operational protocols and technological requirements. There is also the challenge of maintaining consistency in access policies across these controls while adapting to evolving security threats and technologies. Additionally, comprehensive strategies require significant administrative effort and continuous monitoring to ensure efficacy, which can strain resources and require specialized expertise .

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) enhances security administration by assigning users to roles based on their job functions. This method can simplify the management of user permissions by reducing the complexity of access control management. RBAC can enforce policies in combination with DAC/MAC, thus leveraging both flexibility and strict policy adherence where needed. It uses Access Control Lists (ACLs) to manage these assignments efficiently, ensuring that users have access rights aligned with their roles, thus improving security administration .

Balancing between preventive, deterrent, and detective access controls is critical for an organization to ensure a robust and comprehensive security posture. Preventive controls aim to block unauthorized activities, deterrent controls aim to discourage potential offenders by making them aware of probable detection and consequences, and detective controls identify and alert on suspicious activities. This balance ensures that not only are attacks prevented, but they are also detected and deterred—which together create a multi-layered defense strategy that effectively manages and mitigates risks .

Compensative controls enhance an organization's overall security posture by providing additional security measures that complement existing controls. These are particularly crucial when primary controls are insufficient or ineffective due to environmental constraints or limitations. Compensative controls act as a backup or alternative to mitigate risks, thus ensuring a layered defense strategy that improves the ability of an organization to withstand and respond to security threats .

Corrective controls play a pivotal role in restoring systems to a secure state after a security violation by specifically addressing and fixing the issue that led to the breach. They aim to enhance the system's resilience by restoring confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Recovery controls, on the other hand, focus on bringing the entire system back to normal operation post-violation, which may include additional measures outside of correcting the initial problem to ensure full operational capability and business continuity .

Detective controls in access control systems function to alert system operators of potential unauthorized access by monitoring and reporting suspicious activities. Unlike preventive controls, which aim to stop unauthorized actions before they occur, detective controls do not prevent these actions but instead identify and record them, enabling administrators to respond to threats appropriately and perform forensic analysis if necessary. These controls are critical in maintaining security by providing insights into potential security breaches .

The key differences between Mandatory Access Control (MAC) and Discretionary Access Control (DAC) lie in their approach to setting access restrictions. MAC is a system-imposed access control method where access permissions are centralized and determined by the system's security policy. It restricts actions that a subject can perform on an object and typically involves different levels of security classifications. In contrast, DAC allows the owner of the resource to determine who can access it and what operations can be performed, providing more flexibility but potentially less security if not managed properly .

The implementation of biometrics as a physical access control measure enhances security by utilizing unique physiological characteristics, such as fingerprints, iris patterns, or facial recognition, that are difficult to replicate or share. Unlike traditional methods like keys or cards, which can be lost, stolen, or forged, biometric identifiers provide a higher assurance of identity verification. Additionally, biometrics streamline the access process by eliminating the need for physical tokens, thus reducing the likelihood of unauthorized access .

An organization might prefer to use Discretionary Access Control (DAC) over Mandatory Access Control (MAC) in environments that require flexibility in access permissions. DAC is beneficial in scenarios where data owners need the autonomy to decide access privileges based on their judgment, allowing for more dynamic sharing of information. DAC enables easier collaboration and sharing within projects or teams where stringent security classifications are unnecessary, such as in less sensitive environments or in organizations prioritizing agility and usability over strict security .

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