What Is Access Control And Why Is It Required?

When you’re learning about cyber security, you’ll notice that there are many terms that you might not understand but which are vitally important.

One such term is access control. It might sound complex, but access control is a relatively straightforward process once you grasp its basic principles.

At UK Cyber Security, we understand the importance of access control and how it affects your company’s network and its overall digital safety.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide to access control, so business leaders and project managers can find out what it is and how the practice can benefit them.

What Is Access Control?

Access control is a form of selective restriction, which allows businesses to exclude unknown entities and accounts from their network.

As such, access control is crucial for businesses that want to keep their data safe. Malicious accounts and the individuals behind them can wreak havoc in your organisation and potentially cause costly issues.

In cyber security, the right to access and make use of data and network resources is often known as authorisation. It is only allowed for those individuals that are known to the business.

What Types Of Access Control Are There?

Access control comes in different forms. There are four main types of access control:

Discretionary Access Control- These access systems allow business leaders to restrict access to any specific part of their organisation. Each individual has a unique keycard or password, which will give them access to a part of the business, such as an office, a network or a specific folder. This approach is flexible and useful for businesses that have multiple stakeholders that need limited access to specific parts of the organisation.
Mandatory Access Control- Often considered one of the most secure types of access control, mandatory access control allows only authorised individuals full access to the system. This type of access control is useful for businesses that need to be compliant with many regulations or have valuable data to protect.
Role-Based Access Control- Role-based access control allows businesses to authorise specific job titles and allow them access to individual parts of your network. For example, if you have a team of accounting professionals in your company, you can allow every user who is designated as part of that team access to accounting files. This approach saves you time, as you won’t have to give each individual user access and won’t have to update your permissions whenever new staff join or team members move to a new part of the company.
Rule-Based Access Control- Less of a full type of access control and more of an addition to your access control system, rule-based access control allows business leaders to set rules about who has access to its network and when. These rules can be time or type of account dependent, so you can ensure that your network and data are fully protected if the situation changes.

Each type of access control is unique and has its own purpose, so you should explore each option in detail and find the one that suits your organisation.

In many cases, you can use multiple types of access control. You could choose one type for access to your offices and another for your offices and physical items.

So, when choosing the right type of access control system for your business, you should explore the options and consider what you need to protect and what access every individual needs.

Then you can find the right solution that will combine safety with productivity and improve your organisation’s cyber security.

Why Does Your Organisation Need Access Control?

Access control is an essential part of cyber security. That’s because, without access control, your organisation’s network and private data are both completely open and available to anyone.

That means that not only are your staff and stakeholders able to view it but so too are hackers and cybercriminals. These individuals use cutting-edge technology to identify unguarded websites, networks and online platforms and access them.

Once they have gained entry to your system, they can use your data to their advantage and generally cause issues for your company. As such, you need to ensure that you prevent cybercriminals from accessing your information.

It’s not just external threats that businesses need to keep out of their systems: you also need to consider data protection rules and privacy.

As part of this approach, access control can allow your company to restrict specific individuals from accessing data that they are not supposed to be privy to. This might include confidential client information or data about other members of staff.

Access control acts as a vital part of your cyber security and business management processes. Without it, you will find it impossible to be compliant with relevant regulations and to manage your company effectively.

As a result, if your business doesn’t have access control, then you need to implement it immediately. There are various types of access control and many software solutions available, so you need to understand them and find those that will suit your company.

How Can UK Cyber Security Group Help?

Finding the right access control solutions, understanding which ones will work for your organisation and implementing them across your network can seem daunting. Thankfully, help is at hand, and we’re here to assist businesses from across the corporate landscape.

As leading experts in cyber security, UK Cyber Security can help businesses throughout the corporate world to understand access control, why it’s so important and how they can implement it in their business.

We’re recognised third-party certifiers for Cyber Essentials and IASME Governance, so we realise that access control is a leading principle of cyber security.

Our expert team also provide a selection of cyber security services, including cyber health checks and awareness training, so that you can your team understand your vulnerabilities and the importance of solutions such as access control.

So if you’re ready to start your journey towards cyber security excellence, then contact us today. We’ll get you on the road to cyber safety in no time.