RBAC vs. ABAC: Choosing the Right Access Control for the Public Sector

Why Standard Access Control Isn't Enough for the Public Sector

In the world of Identity and Access Management (IAM), Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is often recommended. For many organisations in the private sector, where access needs are quite uniform and tied to job titles, RBAC provides an adequate and efficient security framework. It excels at granting general access and managing non-sensitive permissions.

However, the stakes are higher in the public sector, where you often have stricter demands to protect sensitive personal data. This calls for a more granular and dynamic approach. At Identum, we believe that while RBAC certainly has its place, it’s only partially suited for the complexities of public services. For sensitive systems, such as healthcare patient journals, a more robust model is necessary. This is where Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), combined with self-service and approval workflows, it becomes truly essential for your organisation.

Understanding RBAC: The Private Sector Standard

Role-Based Access Control is a straightforward method for managing user permissions on a broad scale. We bundle access rights into roles, and you assign users to a role that corresponds with their job function. For example, everyone in the "Accountant" role gets the same set of permissions needed for their accounting tasks.

This model works well in environments where the principle of "least privilege" is sufficient at a group level. It simplifies administration for you and ensures that your employees can be productive from day one.

• Simplicity: We find it easy to implement and manage for organisations with clearly defined user groups.
• Efficiency: We streamline your onboarding and offboarding process by letting you assign or revoke a single role.
• Scalability: We manage large numbers of users efficiently, as long as your role definitions remain static.

The Limits of RBAC in Public Sector Security

The public sector operates under much stricter security and privacy requirements. Access to sensitive information, such as a citizen's health records, simply cannot be determined by role alone. Several other factors must be considered to ensure that access is not only authorised but also appropriate for the given context.

This is where the rigidity of RBAC becomes a limitation for your IT department. A single role, such as "Healthcare worker," is often too broad to differentiate between individuals with varying qualifications, work schedules, and legitimate needs for information.

The Solution: ABAC with Self-Service and Approval

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) offers a more dynamic and context-aware solution. Instead of relying solely on your user’s role, ABAC evaluates a range of attributes to grant or deny access. These attributes can relate to the user (like title, position code, department) combined with the resource they are trying to access. This attribute-driven model provides the granularity your organisation needs for complex security decisions.

Let's consider a practical example from the healthcare sector:

A licensed, full-time nurse at a specific care home may automatically qualify for access to the patient journal system for their assigned ward. Their attributes—such as license=active, employment_status=full-time, title=nurse, and department=Ward-A—meet our predefined policy for automatic access.

In contrast, a part-time nursing assistant at the same post may have different attributes, such as license=assistant and employment_status=part-time. The ABAC policy would not grant automatic access. Instead, it would determine that the assistant is eligible for access, but it requires explicit approval.

This is where combining ABAC with a self-service and approval workflow becomes powerful for your team. The nursing assistant can request access through a self-service portal. This request then automatically triggers an approval workflow within our IAM system (like eADM), notifying their direct manager. The manager, who has the necessary context, can then approve or deny the request. Without an approval workflow, staff with temporary or limited qualifications might gain inappropriate access to sensitive data if only basic roles are used.

This hybrid approach provides your organisation with the following benefits:

• Granular Control: Access decisions are based on multiple, context-specific attributes, not just a role.
• Enhanced Security: We prevent overly broad permissions and ensure that access to sensitive data is strictly limited and approved.
• Flexibility: We adapt to individual circumstances and changing user needs without requiring the creation of countless new roles, thus helping you avoid "role explosion."
• Auditability: We create a clear and traceable record of who requested, approved, and was granted access to sensitive systems.

Conclusion: The Right Tool for the Job

While RBAC remains a valuable tool for general access management, the public sector's unique security and compliance demands call for a more sophisticated approach. By leveraging the granular control of ABAC and integrating it with automated self-service and approval workflows, your organisation can build an IAM framework that is both secure and efficient. This ensures that sensitive data is protected while providing your employees with the precise level of access they need to perform their duties effectively.

At Identum, we're here to help you achieve "The right access, to the right people, at the right time - Always!".