Attribute-based access control: Difference between revisions

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'''Attribute-based access control''' ('''ABAC'''), also known as '''policy-based access control''' for [[Identity management|IAM]], defines an access control paradigm whereby access rights are granted to users through the use of policies which combine attributes together.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Computer Security Division|first=Information Technology Laboratory|date=2016-05-24|title=Attribute Based Access Control {{!}} CSRC {{!}} CSRC|url=https://content.csrc.e1c.nist.gov/Projects/Attribute-Based-Access-Control|access-date=20202021-11-2225|website=CSRC {{!}} NIST|language=EN-US}}</ref> The policies can use any type of attributes (user attributes, resource attributes, object, environment attributes etc.). This model supports Boolean logic, in which rules contain "IF, THEN" statements about who is making the request, the resource, and the action. For example: IF the requester is a manager, THEN allow read/write access to sensitive data. The NIST framework introduces the main concepts of ABAC as its entities, i.e. PAP (Policy Administration Point), PEP (Policy Enforcement Point), PDP (Policy Decision Point) and PIP (Policy Information Point).<ref>{{Cite web|last=NIST|first=ABAC|date=2014|title=Guide to Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) Definition and Considerations|url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/specialpublications/NIST.SP.800-162.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=NIST|date=2016|title=A Comparison of Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) Standards for Data ServiceApplications|url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-178.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref>

Unlike role-based access control (RBAC), which employs pre-defined roles that carry a specific set of privileges associated with them and to which subjects are assigned, the key difference with ABAC is the concept of policies that express a complex Boolean rule set that can evaluate many different attributes. Attribute values can be set-valued or atomic-valued. Set-valued attributes contain more than one atomic value. Examples are ''role'' and ''project''. Atomic-valued attributes contain only one atomic value. Examples are clearance and sensitivity. Attributes can be compared to static values or to one another, thus enabling relation-based access control.