What Is Role-Based Access Control?

Role-based access control (RBAC) helps to build a foundation for robust organizational security by ensuring efficient access management. Whether your aim is to bolster data security, streamline user onboarding and offboarding, or ensure compliance with industry regulations, this short post has you covered.

Read on to discover the definition of role-based access control, learn how it works, and explore how it can benefit your security. You’ll also get actionable insights on how to implement RBAC in your organization.

What is RBAC?

Role-based access control is a model for managing access to systems, data, and other resources based on predefined user roles in an organization. According to this model, an administrator assigns permissions to specific roles rather than individual users.

[RBAC is] access control based on user roles (i.e., a collection of access authorizations that a user receives based on an explicit or implicit assumption of a given role). Role permissions may be inherited through a role hierarchy and typically reflect the permissions needed to perform defined functions within an organization. A given role may apply to a single individual or to several individuals.

NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

Once a user is assigned a specific role, they can access the resources they need to do their job. This approach aligns well with the principle of least privilege, which asserts that users should be provided only with the permissions necessary to perform their tasks. For example, a human resources specialist should only be able to access personnel records and recruitment systems, an accountant only financial records and payment systems, etc.

How does RBAC work?

RBAC is based on three major concepts: role assignment, role authorization, and permission authorization. These are foundational steps outlining how an RBAC system enforces access controls. Here’s what each entails:

Role assignment

Each user is assigned one or more roles that define their level of access within the system. Roles are typically based on job functions or responsibilities, such as “administrator,” “manager,” or “sales specialist.” Assignments can be done manually or through automated systems, a design which is especially beneficial for larger organizations where roles may need to be assigned dynamically as job functions change.

User authorization

Role authorization ensures that only users with legitimate assignments are granted access to a specific role by verifying that the user is authorized to perform the duties or access the information associated with their assigned role. This mechanism helps prevent unauthorized actions and ensures compliance with security policies.

Permission authorization

This step involves checking if a user’s assigned role grants them the necessary permissions to perform specific actions within the IT environment. When a user attempts to access a resource or execute an action, the system checks their assigned role(s) against the corresponding permissions. If the user’s role includes the required permissions for the requested action, access is granted; otherwise, it is denied.

Benefits of RBAC

Organizations widely adopt RBAC access control, as this model offers the following benefits:

Improved data security

RBAC reduces the risk of sensitive data compromise by ensuring each user has only the permissions necessary to fulfill their specific role. Adherence to the principle of least privilege helps reduce the attack surface and limit the potential for privilege misuse, insider threats, and data breaches.

Simplified access management

Role-based access management eliminates the need to provision a unique set of permissions to each user. Instead, RBAC assigns predefined permissions to different roles, which is particularly useful during onboarding and offboarding, or when employees move into new positions. Therefore, you can automate many routine tasks and reduce the burden on your IT staff.

Enhanced compliance

Organizations in many industries — from healthcare to finance — must adhere to certain cybersecurity standards, laws, and regulations that enforce strong access management controls and data protection. When you implement the RBAC model, you deploy specific tools that help you meet these requirements, e.g., securing access to your critical resources and keeping track of audit logs that show who accessed what and when.

There is some rigidness in the structure of RBAC, meaning that it works well in static environments but may have disadvantages in dynamic settings where users require temporary or situational access outside predefined roles. Read our article on RBAC vs. ABAC to learn more about RBAC’s pros and cons, and read about attribute-based access control (ABAC) to compare these two access control methods.

How to implement RBAC in your organization

A structured approach is essential for implementing role-based access control in your organization, ensuring it operates effectively and aligns well with your business requirements and security needs. Follow these steps and best practices when implementing RBAC:

1. Define roles and access needs

First, analyze your organization’s structure to identify different roles, such as IT administrators, accountants, HR specialists, sales representatives, etc. Then, determine the information, tools, and systems needed to perform each role. Follow the principle of least privilege to prevent redundancy of access permissions.

2. Inventory resources and permissions

After identifying all roles, create a register of your organization’s data assets, systems, servers, and applications that users need access to. Once done, document all possible actions users can perform with the inventoried resources, including read, write, and execute parameters. Resources can be classified by their sensitivity to ensure high-risk systems are protected with more stringent access controls.

3. Map roles to permissions

This step includes linking roles to the specific access rights they require, ensuring that permissions do not provide more access than needed. Document each role’s permissions, available resources, and the level of access provided. Creating role-permission matrices can help you maintain consistency and scale the mapping process.

4. Assign roles to users

Assign each user one or several roles based on their position and responsibilities. To prevent excessive permissions, avoid assigning multiple roles without a valid reason. If you still need to assign more roles, return to the previous step and remap roles to permissions until each role has the proper access rights.

5. Establish RBAC policies

By creating policies on how RBAC is implemented, enforced, and updated in your organization, you foster consistency and express your expectations toward secure access management. Communicate these policies clearly to employees, and provide training if necessary to ensure everyone understands their responsibilities regarding access control.

6. Review your RBAC system

Periodically conduct user access reviews to assess your organization’s adherence to the principle of least privilege. Regular reviews of your RBAC system help to ensure it still meets your organizational policies, needs, and security requirements. Re-evaluate role definitions, permissions, and user role assignments for gaps, overlaps, or misconfigurations as your organization’s structure changes.

7. Use access management software

You can significantly simplify the enforcement of RBAC with a dedicated access management solution. Some software tools allow you to automate access control and maintain visibility over how users utilize their RBAC permissions.

Syteca is a comprehensive cybersecurity platform featuring robust privileged access management (PAM) and user activity monitoring (UAM) solutions. PAM enables you to automate and secure access provisioning, while UAM allows you to maintain oversight and visibility throughout your organization. Syteca PAM capabilities also include privileged account discovery, two-factor authentication (2FA), and one-time passwords to reduce the likelihood of unauthorized access and data breaches.

With Syteca, you gain the tools needed to secure sensitive accounts and maintain full control over privileged access while ensuring regulatory compliance.