By limiting access to physical and logical systems, access control minimizes security risks. To protect confidential information, such as customer data, access control is a fundamental component of security compliance programs. Organizations generally limit access to networks, computer systems, applications, files, and sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information and intellectual property. Managing access control systems in dynamic IT environments involving on-premises and cloud services can be challenging. In the wake of high-profile breaches, technology vendors have moved away from single sign-on systems and toward unified access management, which provides on-premises and cloud access controls.
In access control, a user is authenticated, authorized, and audited during a session. Today, access control authentication devices contain IDs and passwords, digital certificates, security tokens, smart cards, and biometrics. It involves the process of identifying users and granting them access to information, systems, or resources. In order to handle the proper disclosure of information, it is essential to understand the element of access control. An entity can be granted access to a specific resource. Access control structure can be used in handling physical resources (including a movie theatre, to which only ticket-holders must be admitted), logical resources (a bank account, with a limited number of people authorized to create a withdrawal), or digital resources. Only specific users should be able to access a digital resource, which is a private text file on a computer.