DAC: Discretionary Access Control

The DAC (Discretionary Access Control) control model is a type of access control mechanism used to restrict access to resources based on the identity and permissions of the user or process requesting access. In this model, the owner of the resource is responsible for setting access policies for the resource and deciding who should be allowed to access it. The policy in a DAC control model is defined by the resource owner or administrator. The resource owner can specify which users or groups of users are allowed to access the resource and what level of access they have (read, write, execute, etc.). The access control decisions are made based on the user's identity and the permissions associated with their account. For example, a file owner can set read-only access for a specific user or group, and deny access to others.

One advantage of the DAC control model is that it is simple and easy to implement. It is also flexible and can be easily customized to meet the needs of different organizations or applications. Additionally, it allows for decentralized control, which means that the responsibility for access control is delegated to the resource owner rather than being centralized in a single system administrator.

However, there are also some disadvantages to the DAC control model. One major disadvantage is that it can be difficult to manage access control policies across a large number of resources or users. This can lead to inconsistencies in access control and potentially create security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the DAC control model does not provide fine-grained control over access permissions, which can limit its usefulness in certain situations.

The DAC control model is a simple and flexible approach to access control that allows for decentralized control over resource access. However, it may not be suitable for large-scale deployments or applications that require fine-grained access control. Resources: Discretionary access control (DAC). (n.d.). Discretionary Access Control (DAC). https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.2.0?topic=controls-discretionary-access-control-dac discretionary access control (DAC) - Glossary | CSRC. (n.d.). Discretionary Access Control (DAC) - Glossary | CSRC. https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/discretionary_access_control