Return to Authentication, Written Authorization, Access control list (ACL), Passwords, Authentication, Identity and Access Management (IAM), Outline of computer security

Authorization is the process of determining whether a user, device, or system has the necessary permissions to access a particular resource or perform a specific action. It follows successful authentication, which verifies the identity of the entity requesting access.

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): In RBAC, access permissions are assigned based on roles rather than individual users. Each role has specific permissions, and users are assigned to roles based on their job functions. This method simplifies the management of permissions and ensures consistency.
• Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): ABAC uses attributes (such as user characteristics, resource attributes, and environmental conditions) to determine access permissions. Policies define how these attributes interact to grant or deny access. ABAC offers fine-grained control and flexibility.
• Mandatory Access Control (MAC): MAC is a strict access control model where access decisions are made based on predefined policies set by an administrator. Users cannot change permissions or access levels, which enhances security but may limit flexibility.
• Discretionary Access Control (DAC): In DAC, resource owners have control over who can access their resources. They can grant or revoke permissions at their discretion, providing more flexibility but potentially introducing security risks if not managed properly.

• Access Management: Authorization is crucial in managing who can access specific resources, such as files, databases, or systems. It helps enforce security policies and ensures that users can only access resources they are permitted to.
• Enterprise Systems: In corporate environments, authorization helps manage access to sensitive information and applications. For example, employees may have different access levels to financial systems, HR data, and internal communication tools based on their roles and responsibilities.

• Policy Management: Defining and managing access policies can be complex, especially in large organizations with diverse roles and responsibilities. Ensuring policies are up-to-date and reflect current security requirements is essential.
• Scalability: As organizations grow, managing and scaling authorization systems can become challenging. Implementing scalable solutions that can handle increasing numbers of users and resources while maintaining security is crucial.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization
• https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25614/authorization
• https://www.csoonline.com/article/306514/what-is-authorization-and-how-it-differs-from-authentication.html

Snippet from Wikipedia: Authorization

Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences), in information security, computer security and IAM (Identity and Access Management), is the function of specifying rights/privileges for accessing resources, in most cases through an access policy, and then deciding whether a particular subject has privilege to access a particular resource. Examples of subjects include human users, computer software and other hardware on the computer. Examples of resources include individual files or an item's data, computer programs, computer devices and functionality provided by computer applications. For example, user accounts for human resources staff are typically configured with authorization for accessing employee records.

Authorization is closely related to access control, which is what enforces the authorization policy by deciding whether access requests to resources from (authenticated) consumers shall be approved (granted) or disapproved (rejected).

Authorization should not be confused with authentication, which is the process of verifying someone's identity.

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Research:

• authorization on Wiktionary
• authorization on DuckDuckGo
• authorization on O'Reilly
• authorization on GitHub
• authorization on Reddit
• authorization on StackOverflow
• authorization on YouTube

Fair Use Sources:

• authorization on DuckDuckGo