Attribute-based access control: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 07:04, 11 July 2016

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'''Attribute-based access control''' (ABAC) defines an [[access control]] paradigm whereby access rights are granted to users through the use of policies which combine attributes together. The policies can use any type of attributes (user attributes, resource attributes, object, environment attributes etc.). Unlike Role-BasesBased 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |url=http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-162.pdf |title=SP 800-162, Guide to Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) Definition and Considerations |format=PDF |publisher=NIST |accessdate=2015-12-08}}</ref> 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 [[Classified_information#Clearance|clearance]] and sensitivity. Attributes can be compared to static values or to one another, thus enabling relation-based access control.

Although the concept itself existed for many years, ABAC is considered<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.axiomatics.com/attribute-based-access-control.html |title=Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) |accessdate=2016-05-07}}</ref> "next generation" authorization model because it provides dynamic, context-aware and risk-intelligent access control to resources allowing access control policies that include specific attributes from many different information systems to be defined to resolve an authorization and achieve an efficient regulatory compliance, allowing enterprises flexibility in their implementations based on their existing infrastructures.