What is data access control?

Without proper access control, your data could be at risk. This risk is even greater now as more employees access sensitive information from various locations and devices, often over insecure home networks.

By defining who can or can’t access certain data, data access control ensures that sensitive information is only available to authorized users.

In this article, we’ll discuss what data access control is, why it’s essential, the different types of access control, when to implement it, and how to do so effectively.

What is data access control?

Data access control refers to controlling who can access and use data. Any company that deals with sensitive data should implement it. 

Data access control systems typically include several components:

• Authentication: Ensures that the user is who they claim to be, often through passkeys, security tokens, biometric data, or other methods.
• Authorization: Determines whether a user has the right to perform a requested action based on established policies.
• Access rights: Define what actions authorized users are allowed to do, such as read, write, delete, or modify data.
• Managing access: This involves updating access rights as necessary, setting up user accounts, granting appropriate access rights when they join the organization or change roles, and removing access when it’s no longer needed.
• Auditing access: Continuously monitors and logs access to resources.

Why is data access control essential?

Here’s why data access control matters so much.

Keeps sensitive data safe

The primary reason for data access control is to secure sensitive information from unauthorized access. By defining who can access what data and under what circumstances, organizations can protect their data from threats both external (such as hackers) and internal (such as employees with malicious intent).

Helps you maintain compliance 

Depending on your industry, you may have to adhere to strict rules and regulations about how data is handled. For instance, the healthcare industry must comply with HIPAA regulations in the U.S., which dictate how patient information is handled and accessed. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines and legal issues. Good data access control practices ensure you’re not stepping out of line.

Reduces insider risks

Even in small, tight-knit startup teams, the risk of someone misusing data is real. Data access control limits access based on what people need to do their jobs. For example, developers may need broad access for building products but customer support reps only need limited access. This cuts down the chances of data mishaps, either accidental or intentional.

Make collaboration safer and smoother

With many different people, including outside vendors or contractors working in a company, data access control makes it safe to share necessary information without overexposing sensitive details. For instance, a contractor could be allowed to see only specific project documents, while more sensitive financial records are kept off-limits. 

Additionally, with automated provisioning and de-provisioning, data access control systems can instantly grant or revoke access to resources when someone's role starts or ends — like when a project wraps up or a contract is completed.

When should you implement data access control?

Early-stage startups (1-10 employees)

Implement data access control as soon as you start collecting and storing data. It's much easier to build data access control into your systems from the beginning rather than retrofitting it later. 

Keep it simple. Use basic data access control features available in most off-the-shelf software, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, which can manage basic permissions for files and data.

Growing small business (10-50 employees)

As you start adding more employees and potentially more complex projects, start formalizing roles and responsibilities. You might consider a simple Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) system where access levels are defined by job function. This is also a good time to ensure you have policies for onboarding and offboarding employees regarding data access.

Mid-sized company (50-200 employees)

When you begin to see the strain on your initial systems and more data to handle, it’s time to upgrade to more sophisticated data access control systems if you haven’t already. Look into more comprehensive solutions that offer detailed access controls and auditing capabilities. You might also start needing dedicated security personnel to manage access control systems.

Large enterprise (200+ employees)

At this stage, data access control should be highly customized and possibly integrated into a larger identity and access management (IAM) strategy. You’re likely dealing with multiple layers of data sensitivity and more stringent regulatory requirements, so more fine-grained access controls like Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) might be necessary. This phase often requires a dedicated team focused on continuous review and improvement of access controls.

The four types of data access control

There are four main types of data access control: 

• Discretionary access control
• Mandatory access control
• Role-based access control
• Attribute-based access control

Discretionary Access Control (DAC)

With DAC, data access is determined by the data owner. As an individual user, you control who can access specific files and resources. 

This is common for small teams or companies where data owners can manually assign permissions. However, as a company scales, this becomes difficult to manage and less secure.

Mandatory Access Control (MAC)

MAC is based on security labels attached to both users and resources. A security policy determines which labels can access other labels. 

For example, “Secret” data can only be accessed by “Secret” cleared users. This centralized control is more suitable for government agencies or large enterprises.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC assigns permissions to user roles instead of individual users. 

For example, an Editor role may have permission to read, write, and modify files. This makes management much easier as roles can be reassigned. New employees simply inherit the permissions of their roles. RBAC is popular for most companies and applications.

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)

ABAC determines access based on attributes of users, resources, and the environment. 

For example, a user's location, type of device, or time of access can all be considered. ABAC provides very granular control but can be complex to implement and manage. It may be overkill for most small to mid-sized companies.

How to implement access control

Here’s a general approach to implementing access control, regardless of the specific technologies or platforms you use:

1. Define access requirements: Determine what data, systems, or resources need protection. This could include files, databases, and apps. Then, classify these resources based on sensitivity and importance to determine the level of security needed.
2. Select an access control model: Your choice will depend on your needs. You may even choose to implement two or more models at once.
3. Implement authentication: Before controlling users' access levels, you need to verify them. You can choose from several authentication methods, including SSO, biometrics, and tokens.
4. Set strong policies: Define and enforce what actions each role or attribute in the system is allowed to do. These policies will determine the extent of access.
5. Manage access: Assign access rights to users, update them when necessary, and revoke them when no longer needed.
6. Audit: Monitor and record what users access.

At its most basic level, a data access control system should allow you to define an access control model, define permissions, map roles, manage user access, and monitor and log this access. 

Implementing this from scratch can be very lengthy and time-consuming. It’s much easier and faster to use a third-party provider, like WorkOS.

For a complete centralized authorization platform, consider using WorkOS Fine-grained authorization (FGA). Here are some of its key features: 

• Support for any access control model: FGA lets you model any access control method from RBAC to ABAC or a custom model. 
• API and CLI options: You can manage access control rules through a dashboard or programmatically via APIs or CLI tools. ‍
• Wide support for a wide range of apps: FGA works for both internal and customer-facing apps, APIs, and other cloud services.

Tips for implementing effective data access control 

To implement effective data access control in your company, here are some tips and best practices to keep in mind:

• Start with a data access policy: Establish a formal policy that outlines who can access what data and how. Define access levels for different roles and responsibilities. Review and update this policy regularly as your company grows.
• ‍Use the principle of least privilege: This means only granting users the minimum access they need to do their jobs. Don’t give blanket access to entire systems or datasets. Carefully control access to sensitive data.
• ‍Implement strong authentication: Require users to authenticate with more than just a username and password. Use two-factor authentication if possible. This makes it much harder for unauthorized users to access systems and data.
• ‍Monitor and audit access: Put controls and monitoring in place to track who is accessing what data and when. Review access logs regularly to check for any unusual activity. This can help you detect improper access or security breaches quickly.
• ‍Educate your users: Develop training to educate all employees on your data access policies and procedures. Explain why data security and privacy are so important. Help users understand appropriate data handling and access best practices. Continually reinforcing this training is key.
• ‍Review and refine: As your company and security needs evolve, review your data access controls and make changes as needed. Stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, regulations, and best practices. Close any gaps to ensure maximum data protection as your business grows.

The bottom line

Getting access control right from the start will save you headaches down the road as you grow and take on more users and data.  

Don't let the complexity scare you off. Start simple with an easy-to-implement model like role-based access control, and consider buying a done-for-you access control solution like WorkOS Fine-grained authorization (FGA) to simplify your implementation.

WorkOS Fine-grained authorization (FGA) is a centralized, flexible, fast, and scalable authorization service. You can use FGA to implement a custom authorization model tailor-made for your application(s), with the ability to integrate elements of role-based access control (RBAC), relationship-based access control (ReBAC), and attribute-based access control (ABAC) as needed.

If you are ready for a highly scalable, centralized fine-grained authorization service built for enterprise applications, sign up today and start making authorization checks with WorkOS.