The Importance of User Permissions and Two Factor Authentication

User permissions and two factor authentication are a key element of a solid security infrastructure. The ability to control the user’s permissions is an essential tool to minimize the risk of malicious or accidental insiders, minimizing the impact of any security breaches and ensuring compliance with regulations.

1. Reduce the risk of insider Threats

A common method for limiting access to users is to use the principle of least privilege, which stipulates that users must be granted the minimum level of privileges required for their responsibilities. This helps minimize the potential impact of unauthorized activities that could be caused by employees or third-party vendors.

2. Minimize the Risk of a Data Breach

Many industries are governed by strict rules which require rigorous data security practices. Controlling user permissions allows companies to ensure compliance by ensuring only authorized users have access to sensitive information.

3. Reduce the Risk of Third-Party Vendor Activity

Many data breaches occur as a result of compromised credentials held by third-party vendors. Reviewing and updating regularly the user’s permissions can lower the risk that external vendors gain unauthorized access.

4. Offer Flexibility in Privilege Escalation

Role-based access control (RBAC) is a popular method of managing user permissions which assigns access rights based on predefined roles. The roles can be nested in order to allow specific access control. A senior physician, for instance, might be granted more privileges while viewing patient data than a junior physician. In addition, RBAC can be configured to require two-factor authentication (2FA) for certain roles to mitigate the risk https://lasikpatient.org/2021/07/08/generated-post-2/ of unauthorized access even in the event that the password has been compromised.