Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting - CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 - 1.2

Understanding the AAA Framework

Overview of Login Process

• The login process involves entering a username and password, potentially with additional authentication factors to gain access to system resources.

• Identification is the first step where a user claims their identity, followed by authentication which verifies this claim through credentials.

Authentication and Authorization

• After successful authentication, authorization determines what level of access the user has based on their role (e.g., shipping and receiving vs. finance).

• Security systems must maintain logs detailing login times, data transferred, and logout times for accountability.

Practical Application of AAA

• The AAA framework consists of Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting; an example includes logging into a VPN server.

• A VPN concentrator requests user credentials from a central AAA server that validates them against stored information.

Device Authentication in Network Security

Verifying Authorized Devices

• To ensure only authorized devices connect to the network, alternative methods like digital certificates are used instead of passwords.

• Certificates provide a way to confirm that devices (like company laptops) are legitimate without needing physical passwords stored on them.

Role of Certificate Authority (CA)

• A Certificate Authority manages all certificates within an environment; it digitally signs device certificates for verification during authentication.

• Each device certificate is compared against the CA's certificate to confirm authenticity before granting network access.

Authorization Models for Resource Access

Implementing Authorization

• Once authenticated, devices require an authorization model to determine resource access rights within the network.

• Various authorization models exist; they help scale permissions effectively across numerous users by defining roles and attributes.

Challenges in Authorization Management

Understanding Authorization Models in Large Organizations

Challenges of Manual Permissions Management

• The scalability issue arises when managing access for individuals in departments like shipping and receiving, which require extensive system access.

• Each employee needs specific rights to perform tasks such as creating shipping labels, tracking shipments, and accessing customer data.

• In larger organizations with many employees in the same department, manually setting up permissions for each user becomes impractical.

• The complexity increases significantly with more resources; thus, a scalable solution is necessary to manage user permissions effectively.

Implementing an Authorization Model

• To address scalability issues, an authorization model can be employed to abstract user access from the information they need.