Role-Based Access Control Enforcement and Decision Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In complex and dynamic computing networks, role-based access control systems face challenges in efficiently managing access changes due to rapid role shifts, leading to administrative overhead and potential security compromises.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a policy-enabled role-based access control system that separates enforcement and decision entities, allowing the enforcement entity to communicate requests to the decision entity for evaluation, thereby reducing administrative expenses and improving access management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If access control lists are updated continuously to reflect rapid role changes, then security is maintained, but administrative overhead and resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments access control into two independent components: a policy store that defines access rules and a policy enforcement point that executes them. This separation allows the policy store to be updated independently without requiring system-wide access control list updates, reducing administrative overhead while maintaining security through the enforcement point's continuous monitoring of role changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-defining access policies in the policy store based on roles and responsibilities. When role changes occur, the system automatically evaluates these pre-defined policies against current user roles, eliminating the need for manual access control list updates and reducing administrative burden while maintaining up-to-date security controls.
2Measurement precision
If manual tracking of role changes is implemented, then access control accuracy is maintained, but resource consumption and administrative costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically monitoring user role changes through integration with directory services or identity management systems. The policy enforcement point continuously evaluates user roles against stored policies without requiring manual intervention, maintaining precise access control accuracy while eliminating the resource consumption associated with manual role tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes feedback loops where the policy enforcement point continuously monitors user roles and automatically re-evaluates access permissions when role changes are detected. This automated feedback mechanism maintains high access control accuracy by ensuring permissions are always aligned with current roles, while reducing resource consumption compared to manual tracking methods.
3Stability of the object's composition
If access control decisions are made centrally for each request, then policy consistency is ensured, but processing time and system overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing access policies and decision rules in the policy store during system initialization or policy update events. When access requests are made, the enforcement point evaluates these pre-loaded policies locally, ensuring policy consistency with centralized definitions while significantly reducing processing time compared to centralized decision-making for each request.
Solution Approach 2:
The policy store acts as an intermediary between centralized policy management and distributed enforcement. It stores pre-processed policy information that can be quickly evaluated by enforcement points, maintaining policy consistency across the system while enabling fast local decision-making that reduces processing time and system overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus to implement role based access control which reduces administrative expenses associated with managing access in accordance with policies and roles. The apparatus includes a memory storing a first role based access control condition associated with an action and a subsystem executing an enforcement entity and a decision entity. In various forms, the two entities are independent entities. The enforcement entity receives a request for the action from a requestor with a role. Additionally, the enforcement entity communicates the role and the request to the decision entity for the decision entity's decision of whether the role satisfies the first condition. The decision entity then communicates the decision to the enforcement entity. Accordingly, the enforcement entity allows or denies the requester the action based on the decision made by the decision entity.