RBAC vs ABAC: Access Control Explained

The principle of least privilege is crucial for securing organizational data by limiting unnecessary access to resources. Two methods have emerged to enforce this principle at scale: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC). RBAC assigns permissions based on user roles, while ABAC considers multiple factors such as user attributes, resource attributes, and environmental attributes. Both approaches have their benefits and drawbacks, with RBAC being simpler to set up but less granular, and ABAC offering more flexibility but requiring a complex initial setup. Many organizations use a hybrid system combining both methods for efficient data access management.