One of the important approaches in protecting sensitive information belonging to a company involves database access control since only the authorised person will be able to access certain information. Both authentication and authorisation are the two basic parts that comprise access control authentication will identify the users to provide access to the database, and authorisation defines whether that authenticated user is granted access to data or the ability to manipulate data.
To ensure data security, both authentication and authorisation of access must be performed. Access control systems UK undertakes this very imperative task with utmost professionalism. Such systems help in implementing various policies meant to protect sensitive information, where access and manipulation of the data are strictly allowed to those with appropriate credentials. Data cannot be well protected from unauthorised access, and possible breaches, without strong authentication and authorisation mechanisms. In this article we’ll delve into database access control strategies to protect user privacy.
Database Access Control:
Database access control is a system devised for permitting only the authorized persons, or users of the database to have access to the sensitive data of a company while restricting unauthorized people. It is based on two important things: one is authentication and the other is authorisation. Authentication ensures that a person who is trying to gain access is.
However, it is not enough to protect data just by authenticating a person. Authorisation is another layer of security, which is the right of a user to access certain data or to perform certain actions. In the absence of both authentication and authorisation, there is no guarantee regarding data security. In modern times, almost all companies have employees using the Internet. Access control, therefore, becomes important.
Role-Based Access Control:
Role-based access control termed role-based security one kind of methodology used to provide restrictions in accessing the system by giving only defined roles to certain users. This kind of access control includes assigning permissions and sets of privileges allowing access to only the concerned people in an authorized manner. Every employee here will have some assigned roles within this system, which define the permissions he has inside the organisation’s access control system.
The user may be given an administrator, a specialist, or an end-user with permissions and limited to certain resources or tasks. Some of them may be allowed to create and modify files, and others may be granted permission only for viewing. Some users will be able to see some files, and others will not be able to.
Implementing Encryption for Enhanced Data Protection:
The concept of security in depth, however, stands on the other side of the divide as a cardinal concept; it is a way of thinking that there should be layers and layers of defence such that an intruder would have to breach one layer after another. By this definition, encryption has received quite serious attention in the database community since it completes the access control and tightens the effectiveness of the same.
Encryption in database systems aims at ensuring the confidentiality of data so that even if an intruder gets hold of the data, that data would remain obscure from him. Even if the attacker manages to breach the firewall and somehow evades the access control mechanisms, they would need the keys for encryption to access the data. While this might serve as a perfect solution, it can be cumbersome to create a working encryption of the databases because of factors such as caching, architecture, and performance.
Multi-Factor Authentication:
The most popular form of multi-factor authentication nowadays is two-factor authentication, or 2FA in short, referring to different kinds of verification involving two distinct kinds. That might be having to log in to the email account with a password and one-time code sent onto the mobile phone via text message. Microsoft research shows that just having MFA on an account reduces the possibility of compromise by 99.9%. MFA adds more layers of defence between attackers and their victims.
That means even if a password is compromised, the hacker would require another factor to have access. In addition, most of these other factors are relatively hard to steal compared to a simple password. Hackers would have to forge biometrics, emulate user behaviour, steal physical devices, or intercept numerous communications to be in a position to bypass security.
Regular Auditing:
Regular auditing of compliance and security within an organisation should be scheduled systematically to deal with any potential risks. In this respect, well-defined policies about data access should be clarified as a strategy, indicating who, under what circumstances, has access to a particular type of information. Regular audits for compliance in data access and use help in the identification of disparities or unauthorized actions; these are important for an organisation’s legal and regulatory compliance. Besides, the audits will provide an avenue for the evaluation of current practices to keep them relevant to industry standards and the organisational goals. . Visit Forbesnest for more informative blogs.
