Column-Level Security in Amazon QuickSight

Overview

Amazon QuickSight’s column-level security (CLS) is critical for information security-conscious organizations. This cloud-based business service allows administrators to control access to certain information, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive information. Using script-level and security policies, CLS provides a security framework that supports data privacy, multi-group access, and resiliency to meet changing business needs.

Introduction

In the ever-evolving world of data analytics and business intelligence, organizations must balance accessibility and security. Ensuring users have access to accurate information while maintaining tight security is critical to making informed decisions and protecting sensitive information. A powerful solution to this challenge is line-level security, a feature Amazon QuickSight offers.

Column-Level Security

Column-level security is a granular access control mechanism that allows organizations to restrict access to specific columns in a dataset based on user credentials or permissions. Amazon QuickSight’s column-level security allows administrators to define and implement effective controls over who can view data in the dataset, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive or confidential information.

Example for Column Level Security in Amazon QuickSight

1. Open the Amazon QuickSight in the AWS management console.
2. Create the dataset by uploading the sample.csv file.
3. Select the dataset you uploaded and then tap on setup near column level security, as shown in the below image.

4. The uploaded dataset has 2 columns (name, age). Choose a name column to restrict access, as shown in the image below.

5. Now, choose the user or group you want to give access to, as shown in the below image.

6. The image below shows the dashboard that the user sees with access to the name column.

7. Below is the image that shows the dashboard view for the user with no access to the name column.

Key Components of Column Level Security

Datasets:

Amazon QuickSight relies on data as the foundation for creating visualizations and dashboards. Column-level security allows you to define access rules for columns in this database. This ensures that users only see the information they are authorized to see, even if it includes a broader range of information.

Security Policy:

Amazon QuickSight security policy is a policy that determines which users or groups can access certain channels. Administrators can define these rules by customer, group membership, or other context. For example, the sales team can access revenue-related data, while the human resources department can only see employee-related data.

Advantages of Column Level Security

• Increase data privacy:

Column Level Security ensures that sensitive information does not fall into unauthorized hands. This is important for organizations that manage private information such as personal details, financial information, or business insights. By restricting access at the line level, organizations can control data privacy and adhere to regulatory standards.

• Access to different groups:

Different groups within an organization often need access to certain information. Column-level security allows administrators to customize access by job and role. This ensures that all teams can access information relevant to their business without compromising irrelevant information.

• Keep pace with changing needs:

As business needs evolve, so do security needs. Column-level security provides rapid flexibility for changes. Administrators can easily adjust security policies to accommodate business changes when adding new users, changing access levels, or implementing additional security measures.

• Easier compliance:

Many businesses have stringent compliance requirements, and data security is important to meeting these standards. column-level security helps organizations stay compliant by providing a robust system for managing data entry. This can help organizations avoid penalties and maintain stakeholder trust.

Conclusion

The security system in Amazon QuickSight is a powerful tool that allows organizations to control their data and ensure that only those with authorization have appropriate access to sensitive information. Administrators can implement effective security measures using level notes, policies, and controls. This improves data privacy and compliance and enables organizations to make the most of their data while reducing security risks. As businesses grapple with complex data management environments, the level of security in Amazon QuickSight is critical to creating a safe and robust data ecosystem.

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