Controlled access to data is vital when your business is storing confidential or proprietary data. Access control is essential for any organization that has employees who are connected to the Internet. The most basic definition of access control is a selective restriction of information to specific people and under certain conditions according to Daniel Crowley, head of research for IBM’s X-Force https://technologyform.com Red team that focuses on data security. There are two key components: authorization and authentication.

Authentication is the process of making sure that the person trying to get access to is who they claim to be. It also includes verification the password or other credentials required before granting access to a network, an application, file or system.

Authorization refers to the granting of access based on a particular job in the company like marketing, HR, or engineering. The most efficient and well-known method of limiting access is through access control based on role. This type of access is controlled by policies that define the required information to perform specific business functions and gives permission to the appropriate roles.

If you have a standardized access control policy in place it is much easier to monitor and manage changes as they happen. It is important to ensure that policies are clearly communicated to staff to encourage careful handling of sensitive information, as well as to have a procedure for revoking access when an employee quits the company or changes their position, or is terminated.