The Access Control Revamp v2
It's incredible to think that just a few years ago, we had to manually code app authentication and store encrypted passwords in the database. Nowadays, it seems like the only go-to approach for authentication is to rely on authentication providers like Auth0, Clerk, and others. However, it appears we are now heading in the same direction with authorization.
More and more developers are turning to tools like OPA and Rego to create application policies. Recently, AWS introduced a new policy language called Cedar specifically for app-level authorization. OSO also made headlines with a $15 million funding round for their policy engine. Additionally, Permit.io released a new standard for frontend authorization called FoAz (FoAz.io), while Auth0 launched their own implementation of Google Zanzibar called OpenFGA. It seems like everyone is looking to overhaul their app authorization systems.
I'm curious to know where you stand in this game. Are you still using imperative code with 'if (user.admin)' statements? Have you explored open-source policy engines? Are you considering leveraging one of these new cloud services to manage permissions? Perhaps you're even looking into alternative permission models beyond RBAC.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this access control revamp v2. What's your take on it?
Replies