93% of enterprises found effective access control to be an essential component of their security strategy. Besides that, over 70% of organizations that have adopted modernized access control systems reported fewer than 5 security-related incidents in a year.

However, enterprises continue to rely on manual access control to manage user credentials or permissions. Manual (or traditional) access control mechanisms are typically static – with user permissions defined during the initial configuration phase. This makes it unsuitable for dynamic environments that need to change access configurations frequently. For example, consider a scenario where a project team needs to share “sensitive” data with external stakeholders just once (or a couple of times).

Let’s discuss some of the limitations of traditional access control – and how AI technology can overcome them.

Limitations of traditional access control

Also referred to as discretionary access control, traditional access control has long been used by enterprises to secure their data, networks, and even office buildings. Besides being time-intensive and error-prone, manual access control is difficult to manage across complex environments and can increase security-related risks.

Let’s discuss the following 4 limitations of traditional access control for modern enterprises:

1. Lack of visibility
   With traditional access control, enterprises don’t have visibility into “who” is accessing their critical resources – and for “what” purpose. This capability is key for security teams to prevent unauthorized access. Besides, they can’t control which resources can be accessed even by authorized users.
2. Lack of granularity
   Traditional access control is based on the user’s role and group – with each group or role assigned a specific set of predefined permissions. This approach assumes that every user in a specific group needs equal access to critical resources irrespective of their job role and designation. This lack of granularity can increase the risk of unauthorized access or misuse of sensitive data or resources.
3. Contextualized access control
   In the manual mode, enterprises cannot enforce contextualized access control; for example, how to respond when an authorized user accesses resources from a personal device or a public place. In these circumstances, enterprises need an additional layer of user authentication and access control. However, due to its static mode, traditional access control cannot contextualize external factors like the user’s current location or device.
4. High operational costs
   Due to human intervention, traditional access control systems have high initial and operational costs. For instance, they require enterprises to invest heavily in:

• Password manager systems
• Biometric systems like facial recognition and fingerprints
• Cost-intensive tasks like user authentication and manual configuration of access level control

Further, manual access control systems are not scalable to accommodate the increasing volume of users, devices, and resources. Each of these factors can add up to the enterprise’s overhead and operational costs. 

How AI-enabled automation can improve access control

At the outset, the use of AI technology in access control can minimize the risk of human or manual error.  Here’s how AI-enabled automation can elevate access control:

1. Natural language processing (NLP)
   With AI-enabled NLP, security teams can now simplify access control within their organization. Similarly, AI models can interpret natural language to identify keywords or spoken words associated with suspicious or malicious activities. This can help cybersecurity teams mitigate potential threats or attacks.
2. Reduced workload
   Through automation, AI-enabled access control systems can reduce the manual workload for security teams. This includes key activities like setting (or modifying) user permissions, configuring access control settings, and adding more users or devices. Besides the convenience, automation can minimize the impact of human error.
3. Third-party system integration
   AI-powered access control can also integrate with third-party security systems like intrusion detection and Google’s own security tools such as Security Command Center. This provides enterprises with end-to-end visibility into their security environment. 
   
   By integrating threat intelligence with AI-enabled access control, enterprises can also quickly adapt their security policies according to prevailing and emerging threats.
4. User monitoring
   With AI-powered access control, enterprises can now track user activities and gain relevant insights. For instance, they can use real-time access control data to check:

• Which users are accessing sensitive data
• How frequently they access data

Through this continuous monitoring, AI-enabled systems enable enterprises to evaluate their security risks and use data-driven insights to improve data security.

How Onix’s AutoACL is delivering AI benefits for access control 

Powered by AI technology, Onix’s AutoACL (powered by Google’s SpeakACL) simplifies access control management using its natural language capabilities. As a long-standing partner for Google’s cloud-powered solutions, Onix has enhanced AutoACL to improve security for its Chrome Enterprise Premium (CEP) customers.

Through integration with Google’s open-source tools, Onix is delivering a range of cloud security services including:

• Reviewing the enterprise’s cloud security posture
• Creating a foundation for any cloud environment
• Identifying critical weaknesses in the cloud security environment

We also specialize in Generative AI solutions for your enterprise security. Do you want to learn more about our AutoACL implementation? Download our latest AutoACL whitepaper now.

 Download Whitepaper

Reference links:
https://eitca.org/cybersecurity/eitc-is-cssf-computer-systems-security-fundamentals/architecture/security-architecture/examination-review-security-architecture/what-are-the-limitations-of-the-traditional-access-control-model-in-certain-scenarios/
https://fastercapital.com/topics/limitations-of-traditional-access-control-methods.html
https://fpc-security.com/blogs/articles/artificial-intelligence-ai-in-access-control
https://www.lenels2.com/en/news/insights/7_ways_ai_is_changing_access_control.html#