Access control is a security mechanism used to regulate and manage access to physical or digital resources within an organization. It involves defining and enforcing policies and procedures to ensure that only authorized individuals or systems are granted access to specific resources, while unauthorized access is prevented or restricted.
Authentication: Access control begins with authentication, which verifies the identity of users or entities attempting to access resources. Authentication methods may include passwords, biometric authentication (such as fingerprint or iris recognition), smart cards, tokens, or multi-factor authentication (combining multiple authentication factors for added security).
Authorization: Once authenticated, users are granted access privileges based on their roles, responsibilities, and permissions defined in the access control policies. Authorization determines what actions users are allowed to perform and what resources they can access, ensuring that access rights are appropriate and aligned with organizational policies.
Access Control Lists (ACLs): Access control lists are lists of permissions attached to resources, specifying which users or groups are allowed or denied access to those resources. ACLs provide granular control over resource access, allowing administrators to define precise access rights for individual users or groups.
