PR.AA-05.208

Does your authorization system consider contextual attributes such as geolocation, time of access, or device security posture when making access decisions?

Explanation

Context-aware authorization enhances security by evaluating not just who is requesting access, but also the circumstances of the request. For example, your system might deny access to sensitive data when requested from an unusual location, outside business hours, or from a device that doesn't meet security requirements. Evidence of implementation could include documentation of your authorization policy rules showing contextual factors, screenshots of configuration settings in your identity management system that enable attribute-based access control, or logs demonstrating access decisions that were influenced by contextual attributes.

Implementation Example

Take attributes of the requester and the requested resource into account for authorization decisions (e.g., geolocation, day/time, requester endpoint's cyber health)

ID: PR.AA-05.208

Context

Function
PR: PROTECT
Category
PR.AA: Identity Management, Authentication, and Access Control
Sub-Category
Access permissions, entitlements, and authorizations are defined in a policy, managed, enforced, and reviewed, and incorporate the principles of least privilege and separation of duties

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Neil Cameron
Founder, ResponseHub
Neil Cameron