What Is Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)?

One of the most effective ways to protect documents and digital assets within your enterprise is role-based access control (RBAC). This data protection mechanism ensures that only authorized users can access information, such as a file, application, or database.

Data breaches are at an all-time high. According to Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2024, there were 30,458 security events and 10,626 data breaches in the preceding year. So enterprises have to go the extra mile in security and ensure that assets are fully protected within their digital ecosystem.

In this article, we’ll explore what RABC is, the benefits of implementing, key features, and best practices to consider when implementing role based access control. We’ll also discuss how document management tools like MSTs eViewer can not only help to better streamline document management processes, but also consider how it enhances any business’ document security.

Understanding Role-Based Access Control

Role-based access control (RBAC), or role-based security, is a digital security practice that limits access to systems, networks, and digital assets to specific users. It’s a permission based system where only those who have the permission assigned by an admin or controller are able to access.

RBAC implements varying levels of access, and it can be quite granular depending on the tools used and the access policy. For instance, a user may not have all the privileges even with permission to access. They may be able to view a file but not modify or duplicate it.

Role-based security predominantly relies on access control policy, that defines who has access to what and how much. These controls are typically implemented based on user roles. For instance, users with admin privileges may have the most access freedom, whereas a worker on the lower hierarchy may have limited access (read-only).

The aim of role-based security features in any application is to protect data from those who don’t need it. In other words, this type of security works on a need-to-know basis. It can help protect sensitive information in databases, files, and applications.

This comes into play, for example, during the discovery period of court hearings or with classified documents in a government’s defense department. In these cases, sensitive digital documents need to be accessible to a large group of individuals holding a certain rank or clearance level. The documents need to be easily viewable by the group, yet certain types of information within the documents must remain hidden from view.

In contrast, without a role-based access control system, all users will have access regardless of their job requirements, privileges, or security clearance level. For example, a temporary worker with an account for an application can see and modify all files. That can be dangerous, as it runs the risk of information breach.

Importance and Key Features of Effective RBAC Systems

Role-based access management is data protection 101, meaning it’s a fundamental practice for protecting information from known cyber threats. In fact, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) ranks broken access control as a top security vulnerability. That shows how important this security measure is for modern enterprises.

Let’s dive deeper into this and see how exactly RBAC targets vulnerabilities enterprises commonly face:

Efficiency and Productivity

For the most part, RBAC is automated. Once role-based permissions are assigned, the system works independently to authenticate users and only allows access to those with the privileges.

In contrast, manually enabling access can be cumbersome. Imagine a user manually sending a request to access a file and another approves it, like an admin or security head. That would be a time-consuming endeavor that will bring inefficiencies into workflows.

With automated, policy-based access controls, users can automatically get authenticated and allowed access, or denied access. An admin only has to set permissions once. This streamlines workflows, giving employees access to the documents or other data they need without requiring manual approval.

Enhanced Security

Of course, the primary reason for using RBAC in applications and networks is the security of documents and files. The last thing any enterprise needs is a rogue employee or, worse, an outsider accessing sensitive documents.

With security access control, an enterprise can ensure only those authorized can access the required information. Access controls are often paired with sound authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), which takes security to the next level.

Access control features in applications also track who accesses what and at what time. It logs access, which can be audited when reviewing security, or investigating a data breach.

Scalability

Role-based controls are highly scalable as a security strategy. As more users are added, their permissions may be quickly configured individually or automatically applied based on their role in the organization.

Once their profile is set up and credentials assigned, they can begin using systems based on their role’s permissions. Unless their role is new or complex, an admin may not necessarily have to add permissions manually.

Improved Compliance

Many enterprises in different industries are liable under regulations to protect user information, whether it’s their own employees or customers. For example, all US healthcare organizations must comply with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which requires companies and organizations to keep patient information private.

RBAC can help reinforce compliance with such regulations by limiting unnecessary access. Not everyone in a healthcare organization may need access to patient information. For instance, the marketing department of an insurance company doesn’t need to access patient records. With access control, marketing team members can be barred from accessing patient-related systems and documents.

Failure to comply with such regulations can result in damaging fines. For example, HIPAA fines can range from $137 to $68,928 per incident.

MST’s eViewer solution complies with major regulations, including HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, FERPA, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

Seamless

Role-based access should be simple and applied automatically without requiring users to do anything. This entails that these controls be seamlessly integrated with the user interface so that employees can be informed accordingly if they don’t have access.

Similarly, those with access shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to gain access. The process should be simple. A good RBAC system makes it easier for authorized personnel to log in, access, and securely log out of applications, devices, and networks.

Integration with Existing Systems

An enterprise may use multiple systems, and setting access controls for every system and employee can be time-consuming and complex. Instead, the best practice is to implement RBAC across different systems and applications so that access policy can be realized uniformly.

MST’s eViewer seamlessly integrates with your existing line-of-business applications while ensuring robust security. It supports authentication through various IDP tokens such as JWT, SAML, or Bearer tokens to validate user credentials. For permissions management, our platform offers developers comprehensive API tools to control user access based on their permission levels. Additionally, eViewer can connect with popular enterprise content management (ECM) systems to fetch and implement user-level permissions for viewing, editing, or downloading documents.

Core Components of an RBAC System

Role-based access control models have several core components that ensure foolproof security. Here are the main components of an RBAC system:

• User Roles: The system depends on well-defined user roles, which are generally based on the person’s job scope and position in the role hierarchy. Most organizations with a centralized control structure have various levels of hierarchies, and those levels have varying access needs.
• Permissions: Role-based permissions define the extent of a user’s access. For example, permissions for a PDF document may include read, write, copy, or delete. Permissions allow more granular access controls and limit the actions users can take.
• Role Assignment: The defined user role has to be assigned to the actual employees. This assignment has to be actively managed in case an employee moves up or down the hierarchy or requires temporary access to some files. Some role assignments are static, while others are more dynamic, requiring frequent changes in permissions.
• Policy: The policy defines access management, detailing roles, their permissions, the timeline for those permissions, and methods of user authentication. RBAC heavily relies on policy, and this policy must be periodically reviewed and audited to reflect organizational or technological changes.

RBAC vs. Other Access Control Models

Several other access control models exist that can suit your organization’s needs.

Discretionary Access Control (DAC)

Discretionary Access Control (DAC) gives data owners complete control over who can access their information and what actions they can perform. DAC offers granular control, but can be more complex to manage, especially in large organizations.

DAC is commonly used in file-sharing systems where individuals manage access to their personal documents and in databases where row-level security is required. However, its flexibility can also pose risks if not implemented carefully, as it relies heavily on user discretion.

Mandatory Access Control (MAC)

Mandatory Access Control (MAC) is a centralized access control system that restricts access based on predefined security labels assigned to users and data. It’s primarily used in high-security scenarios, such as government or military systems, where data classification is crucial. However, compared to RBAC, MAC can be less flexible as users cannot modify access controls.

Attribute-Based Control (ABAC)

Attribute-based Access Control (ABAC) is actually quite similar to RBAC, except it’s more dynamic.

In ABAC, access is given or denied based on attributes associated with users, resources, environments, and actions. This flexibility makes ABAC suitable for complex environments requiring fine-grained access management, such as cloud computing, healthcare, and government systems where data sensitivity and user context are critical.

Its implementation can be quite complex and expensive, especially on a large scale.

Best Practices for RBAC Implementation

Here are some of the best practices for embracing RBAC in your organization:

• Conduct a Thorough Role Analysis: Identify and define roles accurately based on your organization’s unique architecture. If users in the same role require different permissions, it’s best to split them up and create two.
• Implement the Principle of Least Privilege: Grant access only to what a person needs. Periodically review permissions for roles and make changes to what they can access according to the most current requirements.
• Use Role Hierarchies Effectively: Define roles with clear hierarchies to simplify their management. Use inheritance to minimize redundancy and ensure permissions transfer seamlessly when a person temporarily or permanently assumes a different role.
• Automate Role Assignment and Management: Use automation tools to assign roles and permissions to your enterprise’s systems and applications. Manual assignments can be risky and inefficient.
• Regularly Audit and Monitor Access: Conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance with your organization’s access policy and the latest security standards. Monitor access patterns to detect anomalies and fix them before they’re exploited.
• Provide Training and Awareness: Train and educate users at all levels on the implementation and importance of RBAC. Create awareness about threats to minimize human errors that may jeopardize security.

How MST Complements an Effective RBAC Strategy

MST eViewer is a modern document and image viewing solution built with security as a top priority. It inherits and abides by the system’s role-based access control and permissions, so companies can designate who can view, modify, copy, and forward documents.

Whether you’re working with Word or PDF documents, the eViewer supports hundreds of file formats. It incorporates the configured role-based access management by integrating with existing systems so their user roles can be used to define access and modifications to documents on eViewer. It can integrate with the most commonly used content and document management systems. However, it can also integrate with less popular or legacy systems with the available exposed APIs.

In addition, MST makes it easier to monitor document access for auditing purposes. All file access is recorded and maintained with timestamps.

Conclusion

Role-based access control is a cornerstone of modern document security. It simplifies access management by linking permissions to job functions. Enforcing the principle of least privilege through the RBAC system enhances efficiency, reduces administrative overhead, and mitigates security risks.

Future trends in access control models point towards more dynamic and context-aware RBAC systems, which will integrate with technologies like artificial intelligence to make dynamic decisions about who can access what.

MST eViewer applies user’s role-based permissions from the management systems, ensuring security for critical, sensitive documents. It makes compliance with data privacy regulations easy with features like automatic redaction, and watermarking.

Contact MST and make document viewing and sharing more secure!