Roles-Based Authorization: What RBAC Is and When to Use It

If you’re considering how to manage access to your company’s networks and systems, you’ve probably come across the term Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). This guide explains what RBAC is, how to implement it, and how to know if RBAC is the right choice for you.

What is RBAC?

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a widely used method for managing user access within an organization’s computer networks, systems or resources. Instead of assigning unique permissions to each individual user, RBAC grants access based on predefined roles that align with users’ job functions. 

By grouping permissions into roles, RBAC simplifies access management, improves security, and ensures that employees only have access to the resources they need to perform their jobs. Organizations that implement RBAC can reduce the administrative burden on IT teams, minimize human error, and more easily comply with security regulations.

The Three Types of RBAC

There are three types of RBAC access controls: core, hierarchical, and restrictive. Each can address different levels of complexity and organizational needs:

1. Core RBAC: This is the simplest RBAC implementation. Users are assigned specific roles with fixed permissions. For example, a “Sales Representative” role could include access to customer data, but not financial records. Core RBAC is best suited for small organizations or systems with straightforward permission requirements.

2. Hierarchical RBAC: In this model, roles are structured in a hierarchy and the concept of role inheritance is introduced. Higher-level roles automatically acquire (or inherit) the permissions of the roles below them. For example, a "Director" role would inherit permissions from the "Manager" role, which inherits permissions from the "Employee" role. Hierarchical RBAC is a good implementation for organizations with more complex, multi-tier staff structures.

3. Constrained RBAC: Constrained RBAC introduces separation of duties (SoD), which ensures no single user can perform all the steps of a process by themselves. For example, someone assigned the role of “Purchaser” can’t also have the “Approver” role and approve their own purchases. This helps prevent conflict of interest and is especially useful in industries such as finance and healthcare with strict compliance regulations.

How Do RBAC and ABAC Differ?

RBAC and ABAC (Attribute-Based Access Control) are both access control models. The difference between RBAC and ABAC is in the information each uses to determine what a user can access. 

• RBAC: Access is granted based on a person's role or job in an organization.

• ABAC: Access determination is more flexible and can be based on specific user characteristics or conditions such as time of day, employee location, or type of device being used.

RBAC is a simpler model to implement and manage but is less flexible. ABAC offers more precise control, but defining variables and configuring all the rules can be time consuming and complex to maintain.

Many companies blend the two models and create a hybrid system – one that determines high-level access through RBAC and more granular controls through ABAC. This can help administrators get the best out of both options.

Example RBAC Roles

RBAC groups permissions into roles based on common job functions. Roles may consider characteristics such as department, location, seniority level and work duties. 

Here are some examples of roles in an RBAC system:

1. Administrator: Has full access to all systems and resources.

2. Finance Role: Can view and edit financial reports but can’t access HR records or system configurations.

3. Customer Support Role: Limited to customer records and support tools access and has zero access to sensitive financial data.

4. Marketing Role: Can log into platforms to manage company social media accounts and ad campaigns but has no ability to access customer data.

5. Software Engineer Role: Has access to cloud computing platforms, but not to social media accounts.

6. Guest or Reader: Can view all resources but not make any changes. Generally used for non-employees or temporary staff.

7. Manager: Has all the permissions of roles it manages, with additional access to reports and approvals.

In each of these roles, there may be tiers of access as well using hierarchical RBAC. For example, a management tier and an individual employee tier could have different levels of permission inside the “Finance Role.”

Things to Remember When Implementing RBAC

A company’s RBAC implementation process will vary depending on its size and complexity. But there are best practices for deploying RBAC that all organizations should follow:

1. Identify Your Resources Determine all company’s resources that you need to control access to including files, folders, databases, applications, and networks.

2. Define Your Business Roles Identify the roles within your organization and connect them to necessary resource permissions. Be sure you have a clear understanding of job functions to avoid too strict of limitations or unnecessary complexity.

3. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege Assign the minimum permissions required for users to perform their jobs or duties. This helps reduce security risks by limiting access to sensitive data.

4. Use an RBAC Management Tool Access management systems such as Okta and Microsoft Entra ID offer built-in RBAC features that can be used to help you to implement, manage and monitor RBAC.

5. Train Your Team Make sure that employees understand their roles and permissions. Educate your team on how misuse of access can lead to security breaches, even if accidental.

6. Conduct Regular Audits Periodically review company roles and permissions to ensure they remain aligned with job functions.

Tip: Start small. Don’t try to implement RBAC across all your company resources and users at once. Begin with a smaller test group and then gradually expand RBAC to your entire organization.

Times RBAC Isn’t Always the Best Option

RBAC is a powerful security tool, but it isn’t perfect for every company or scenario. Here are a few examples of when RBAC isn’t the best choice:

1. Geographically Diverse Workforce If your team is spread across multiple locations, ABAC is a better choice. An ABAC model can grant permissions according to employee locations and allow access only during business hours according to time zone.

2. Complex Staff Structures
   While RBAC is great for smaller or less complicated team structures, using it in large organizations can lead to what is called “role explosion.” This is when hundreds or even thousands of roles are created within an RBAC system, making management a huge chore for IT teams.

3. Temporary or Project-Based Access RBAC works best for stable, long-term roles. For short-term projects, the ABAC model allows teams temporarily working on a project to be granted access for only a designated amount of time.

RBAC can’t cover every situation, but it is still a powerful system for protecting sensitive files and helping streamline operations. By carefully defining your roles and following best practices, your business can leverage the full potential of RBAC to safeguard your sensitive data and resources.