Controlled access to sensitive information is a complicated issue. The methods a company employs to safeguard the sensitive data it holds are diverse, and they could change as regulations or business practices change. For the best control of sensitive data, businesses must use a centralized method that allows administrators to define and implement guidelines based on what information is being used for what reason. These policies should be implemented across all platforms and consumption methods (such as internal data and external data).
One method of achieving this is by implementing mandatory access control. DAC reduces security risk by defining the data required by each team to perform their tasks and granting access based upon this. However it can be difficult to maintain DAC because the process involves manually granting permissions and keeping track of what permissions have been granted to who.
Another popular method is to restrict access to data by using a role-based control model. It is easy for administrators to establish policies that limit access to users based on roles within an organisation, not on individual user accounts. This model is less vulnerable to errors and permits an even more precise model of “least privilege”, where only the most basic access is granted to users with an emphasis on their need to be aware.
The best method for ensuring that all sensitive information is secure is to periodically review and update both the policies and the technologies that are in place to control access to data. This requires collaboration between the legal team as well as the data platform team who manages and implements the policies and the business teams who write them.