Access control and permission management are core components of any Identity and Access Management (IAM) system and IT infrastructure. They define different roles, such as users, administrators, and financial auditors, and control access for all users to internal and external services.
Core principles of permission management
Principle of least privilege: A permission management system must follow the principle of least privilege. This means each user has only the minimum permissions required to do their job. This principle helps prevent permission abuse, maintain security, minimize impact on productivity, and avoid user confusion.
Permission change tracking: Permission management must track permission changes in real time. Any additions or removals of permissions must be reflected immediately in a user's permission list. This is critical to ensure permissions are synchronized with user levels and statuses and to prevent permission mismatches.
Fine-grained permission assignment
Assign permissions with fine-grained control based on user duties and needs. For example:
Regular users: A regular user might have permission to access a specific application, such as Application A, but not other applications, such as miniapp B.
Phone support agents: A phone support agent might have permission to view user accounts and make limited edits, such as changing phone numbers, resetting passwords, or unlocking accounts. However, they cannot create or delete accounts.
Regional administrators: A regional administrator might be authorized to manage accounts only in a specific region, such as North China. They have no access to accounts in other regions.
Implementation strategies for permission management
Building a complete and flexible permission system is complex. Because of this, companies often use a professional product or an experienced team for permission management. Alibaba Cloud IDaaS is an excellent choice. It offers various authorization models, such as role-based, group-based, and attribute-based authorization. These models create a highly flexible and powerful authorization matrix. IDaaS also supports multiple authorization flows and provides advanced solutions for specific scenarios.
Compliance and performance
Access control is a key focus area in compliance reviews. Alibaba Cloud IDaaS has passed authoritative assessments, such as Level 3 Protection Certification and the ISO series, ensuring legal compliance for your information system development. IDaaS also leverages its extensive experience to deliver high performance for complex tasks, such as batch authorization and high-frequency authentication, striking the perfect balance between usability and flexibility.