Differentiate between access and authorization.

Access and authorization are distinct but related concepts in computer security:

• Access refers to the ability or permission for a subject (like a user or a program) to interact with an object (such as a file, a database, or a network service). It signifies that a subject can perform a specific operation on a resource. For instance, a user having access to a document means they can read, write, or execute it.
• Authorization is the process of determining what an authenticated subject is allowed to do. It involves evaluating whether a subject has the necessary rights or permissions to perform a requested action on a specific object. This decision-making process happens *before* access is granted. For example, after a user successfully logs into a system (authentication), the system performs authorization checks to decide if that user can view a confidential file.

The key difference is that authorization is the decision-making process that grants or denies the ability to interact with a resource, while access is the actual ability or state of interacting with that resource once authorization has been granted. As defined by sources like Panko, authorization involves determining what an authenticated user is permitted to do. Access is the outcome of a successful authorization check.

For further reading, you might find more details in Guide to Computer Network Security by Joseph Migga Kizza, and specific distinctions are often clarified in resources like Differentiating Between Access Control Terms.