Access control is a security technique that can be used to regulate who or what can view or use resources in a computing environment.

There are two main types of access control: physical and logical. Physical access control limits access to campuses, buildings, rooms and physical IT assets. Logical access limits connections to computer networks, system files and data.

The four main categories of access control are:

• Discretionary access control
• Role-based access control
• Rule-based access control

Access control systems perform authorization identification, authentication, access approval, and accountability of entities through login credentials including passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), biometric scans, and physical or electronic keys.