Web security is a blanket term that refers to the practices that protect systems, resources, and data from malicious actors, threats, unauthorized access, and vulnerabilities as they interact on the web.
Role-based access Control, or RBAC, is an authorization approach that defines how users can interact with system resources based on predefined roles and permissions. This blog explores the role of RBAC in enhancing web security.
Why web security is important
Web security is essential to building resilient systems that inspire trust in users and are, by default, harder to breach.
Implementing web security practices prevents unauthorized access to system resources, keeping user information safe from bad actors.
It also makes it easier for organizations to comply with legal requirements like GDPR and HIPAA, avoiding legal problems and further inspiring trust in their systems.
What RBAC is and how it can enhance web security
RBAC is an access control method that assigns permission to users' roles and defines what each role can access within the system. It simplifies access management by grouping users under roles rather than assigning direct individual permissions.
It enhances web security by preventing unauthorized access by restricting user interaction to just the resources to which they have explicit access.
Additionally, its design limits the negative impact of user-related errors by containing them to specific resources that the user can access, thus preventing unnecessary system-wide outages.
As applications grow and logic becomes more complex, updating authorization logic to keep it in sync becomes more urgent. Maintaining RBAC will demand more attention, and at this point, external authorization providers like Cerbos will become involved.
How Cerbos simplifies RBAC for enhanced web security
Cerbos is an external authorization provider that enables organizations to separate or decouple their access control layer from the rest of their application logic. This allows organizations to centralize their RBAC policies, making them easier to manage, test, and scale.
Cerbos evaluates whether a user with a specific role and attribute should be allowed access to a resource. It provides a simple ALLOW or DENY response, reducing code complexity and improving the security baseline by leaving authorization logic to the experts. This frees up developers to focus on application functionality instead of building an authorization engine and maintaining it in-house
For example, if an organization is building a blog application where users have roles like Admin, Editor, and Author. Cerbos lets you define policies such as:
Admin: Full access to all resources.
Editor: Can view and manage Author blogs and schedules.
Author: Can only view and manage their blogs.
Implementing RBAC in your application is streamlined Using Cerbos SDKs and policy decision points (PDPs). You can integrate Cerbos with your backend via its SDKs or make a simple API request to the Cerbos service. This enables you to enforce authorization consistently without directly dealing with complex access rules in your system.
RBAC best practices
We must consider and implement the following best practices to get the most security benefits from RBAC.
Do organizational research
Gather information about the organizational hierarchy, data systems, roles, and needs. Verify the findings with major stakeholders and then create RBAC policy.
The policy should cover all necessary use cases, constraints, and rules. It should be treated like documentation and be the single source of truth. It should also be made available to all relevant people in the organization.
The Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)
The Principle of Least Privilege refers to assigning users the minimum permissions they need to perform their roles and nothing more. This is a central principle of access policies, and the following processes are used to implement it:
Granular Access Control
This refers to breaking down the permissions a user might need into their smallest units. Instead of giving permissions to a section of a system, you give them to the specific part of the section that the user needs to access.
For example, giving a marketing team access to traffic data in an analytics dashboard while blocking access to revenue information.
Just-in-Time Access
If a user needs extra permissions, grant them elevated access for a given time instead of permanently upgrading their permissions. For example, a new developer might need access to sensitive production data only while fixing a particular bug, and the extra permission will auto-expire when it is done.
Create processes for elevated permissions
Have vetted processes in place for when users need more permissions. This keeps things visible and creates a trail that makes auditing more straightforward.
The benefits of carefully implementing this principle include containing any security breaches. Because the user has minimum permission, any damage caused by a compromised system is contained.
Another benefit is that few permissions mean a smaller attack surface, increasing system resilience.
Carrying out deep research before assigning roles and permissions makes this principle simpler to apply and ensures that your roles are appropriately designed.
Review organizational structure periodically
Organizational hierarchies change over time, and monitoring these changes keeps the roles and application logic in sync, preventing leaks and improving security.
Regular reviews of your organization's structure help identify when new roles need to be created or existing ones modified. This includes reviewing department changes, business processes, and operational workflows that might affect access requirements.
Log, audit, and test policies
RBAC policies require regular testing and audits to ensure they work as expected and to be kept updated with organizational changes.
Implementing logging in your RBAC systems makes the auditing part a lot simpler and makes it clear where policies are failing or need to be reviewed.
Leverage automation
Use automation to pick up when people move around the organization and roles no longer fit. Automating this enables you to stay on top of policies and contain role explosion, which is when the roles grow a lot over time and become disorganized and hard to manage.
Have a contingency plan
Develop a way to securely access the system and data in the case of an emergency where the policies backfired or when the policies need to be bypassed.
This should include proper documentation, transparent approval processes, and situation assessment afterward.
Cultivate a security culture
Actively train your team on best web security and RBAC practices. Have your team deeply understand and accept why all the processes and procedures are essential. This will encourage a shared security mindset, where your team proactively monitors and refines RBAC policies.
Conclusion
RBAC is essential for securing web-based systems. It protects user data, ensures system integrity, and encourages user privacy. However, implementing RBAC at scale can be time-consuming and complex. Cerbos simplifies this process by centralizing and streamlining authorization, enabling organizations to focus on building secure, scalable applications.
Notes and resources
Check out these links to learn more on RBAC, Cerbos, and web security best practices:
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