Two factor authentication are a key element of any robust security infrastructure. The ability to control user permissions is an essential tool to minimize the risk of accidental or malicious insider activities, minimizing consequences of any security breaches and ensuring the regulatory compliance.
1. Reduce the risk of insider Threats
A common way to limit user access is to employ the principle of least privilege which states that users click to investigate should be granted the minimum level of privileges necessary for their duties. This minimizes the impact of any illegal action that is performed by employees or third-party vendors.
2. Minimize the Risk of a Data Breach
Many industries are subject to strict regulations that require strict data protection practices. By managing user permissions, organizations can ensure compliance by ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive data.
3. Reduce the Risk of Third-Party Vendor Activity
Many data breaches happen as a result of compromised credentials owned by third-party vendors. Regularly reviewing and updating the permissions granted to users can lower the risk that external vendors will gain access without authorization.
4. Provide flexibility for Privilege Escalation
Role-based Access Control (RBAC) has become a common method of managing user permissions. It assigns specific rights based on roles that have been predefined. The roles can be nested to provide precise access control. For instance that a senior physician might have more privileges than a junior physician in regards to accessing the patient’s information. RBAC can also be configured to require two-factor authentication (2FA), even for specific roles to reduce the risk of unauthorised entry even if a password has been compromised.