What authorization model provides access to resources indirectly after a user is authorized for a primary resource?

What authorization model provides access to resources indirectly after a user is authorized for a primary resource?

• A. Decentralized Authorization
• B. Implicit Authorization
• C. Explicit Authorization
• D. Federated Authorization

Answer: (A)

Decentralized authorization distributes who can access resources across multiple resource owners rather than relying on a single central gatekeeper. In this model, once a user is authorized for a primary resource, the authorization context can be used by other related resources to grant access without requiring a separate, fresh approval. This creates indirect access: permissions granted for the main resource extend, or can be used to derive, access to interconnected resources, often through shared tokens, capabilities, or locally evaluated policies that reference the original grant. This approach aligns with how trust is managed in distributed systems, where each resource can make its own access decision based on a common authorization context. Explicit authorization would require a separate, direct grant for each resource, defeating the idea of the user obtaining access indirectly through the primary resource. Implicit authorization would grant access without a stated, verifiable grant, which can undermine security. Federated authorization deals with cross-domain identity and trust relationships, but the scenario described focuses on how authorization decisions are distributed and reused across resources, which is the essence of decentralized authorization.

Decentralized authorization distributes who can access resources across multiple resource owners rather than relying on a single central gatekeeper. In this model, once a user is authorized for a primary resource, the authorization context can be used by other related resources to grant access without requiring a separate, fresh approval. This creates indirect access: permissions granted for the main resource extend, or can be used to derive, access to interconnected resources, often through shared tokens, capabilities, or locally evaluated policies that reference the original grant. This approach aligns with how trust is managed in distributed systems, where each resource can make its own access decision based on a common authorization context.

Explicit authorization would require a separate, direct grant for each resource, defeating the idea of the user obtaining access indirectly through the primary resource. Implicit authorization would grant access without a stated, verifiable grant, which can undermine security. Federated authorization deals with cross-domain identity and trust relationships, but the scenario described focuses on how authorization decisions are distributed and reused across resources, which is the essence of decentralized authorization.