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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Access control

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCore term

In software engineering, access control means: The rules and technical measures that decide who or what can use a system, view data or enter a place, and what they are allowed to do there.

In Turkish: erişim kontrolü, erişim denetimi

How it is used

Covers both digital and physical security, since badge readers are access control too. Auditors check access control lists, user access reviews and how leavers' accounts are removed. Common models are role-based (RBAC) and attribute-based (ABAC) access control.

Example sentences

  1. Weak access control let any logged-in user download other customers' invoices.

  2. We review access control for the finance share every quarter.

Common collocations

  • access control list
  • physical access control
  • broken access control
  • access review
  • authorizationThe process of checking what an identified user or app is allowed to do, for example whether they can read a file or delete an account.
  • role-based access controlA way of managing permissions in which rights are given to roles, such as 'accountant' or 'admin', and users get access by being assigned to a role.
  • least privilegeThe security principle that every user, service or program should get only the permissions it really needs for its job, and nothing more.
  • authenticationThe process of checking who a user or system is, for example with a password, a token or a fingerprint, before giving access.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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