Controlled Access to Confidential Data

Controlled access to confidential data is a complex issue. The methods that a company employs to safeguard its sensitive data may be different, and they can be modified as regulations or business practices evolve. To ensure maximum control, organizations should use a central approach that lets administrators define policies based upon what data is used for what purposes. Then, the policies need to be implemented across all consumption options and platforms (such as external and internal data).

One method to accomplish this is through mandatory access control. DAC reduces security risks by defining the data required by each team to complete their work and granting access based upon this. However it can be difficult to maintain DAC because the procedure involves manually granting permissions and keeping track of what permissions have been granted to whom.

Another option is to restrict access to data by using the model of access control based on roles. It is simple for administrators to design policies that assign access to users based on roles within the organization, and not individual user accounts. This model is less vulnerable for errors and allows an more detailed model of «least privilege» which allows only the most basic level of access is given to users, with a focus on their need to know.

The best way to ensure that all sensitive data remains safe is to review and update the policies and technology in place to limit access to data. This requires a collaboration between the legal team and the data platform team that implements and handles those policies and the business team who author them.

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