Original Post: Dynamic Authorization for a Modern App | by Hishaam Abdulaziz | Versent Tech Blog | Oct, 2024
The content discusses modern trends in authorization and why they are important, especially in the wake of incidents like the arrest of a NSW Police Force civilian employee for unauthorized data access. It emphasizes the difference between authentication (verifying identity) and authorization (determining what actions can be performed). It highlights the importance of access control, which enforces what a user is allowed to do.
Key components of modern authorization include:
- Policy Decision Point (PDP): This is responsible for making real-time authorization decisions based on policies and user context.
- Attribute-based Access Control (ABAC): Utilizes user attributes, like job title or department, to determine access rights, often through languages like XACML.
- Role-based Access Control (RBAC): Access is granted based on user roles, with requests handled through Identity and Access Management systems.
Advanced concepts like Segregation of Duties (SoD), user consent, login context, fine-grained authorizations, risk engine scores, and ongoing authorization evaluation ensure dynamic and secure authorization processes.
Documentation stresses the importance of centralized and dynamic authorization systems to better handle real-time access control, prevent unauthorized access, and enhance security. It suggests best practices for adopting these methods, including dynamic decision-making, context understanding, centralized role lookups, service layer enforcements, risk engines, and multi-layer authorization enforcement. The goal is to protect sensitive data in an increasingly digital and threat-prone world.
Go here to read the Original Post