RBAC vs ABAC & ReBAC: Choosing the Right Authorization Model

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) has been a longstanding, straightforward model for authorization, assigning permissions based on roles, but it is increasingly inadequate in modern, complex systems that require more contextual decision-making. The limitations of RBAC emerge especially in multi-tenant, global, and dynamic environments where context, such as time, location, and specific user attributes, significantly influences access decisions. This model can lead to role explosion, operational drag, and security vulnerabilities due to its static nature and lack of contextual awareness. To address these shortcomings, the article suggests augmenting RBAC with more sophisticated models like Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), which evaluates user, resource, and environmental attributes, and Relationship-Based Access Control (ReBAC), which focuses on the relationships between entities. These models, alongside Risk-Adaptive Access Control (RADAC) that incorporates real-time risk signals, form a more comprehensive policy-based access control framework, offering a balanced approach to maintaining RBAC's simplicity while enhancing precision, scalability, and security in authorization systems.