Question

Difficulty: MediumAuthentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA)

A security administrator is evaluating the AAA implementation for a new enterprise remote access gateway. During connection establishment, the gateway verifies user credentials against an Active Directory domain controller, applies dynamic firewall rules to restrict network access based on role attributes, enforces bandwidth throttling policies according to user subscription tiers, and writes start/stop session timestamps to a central syslog server.

Which of the following operational activities performed by the gateway represent the Authorization pillar of AAA? (Select TWO.)

  1. A
    Verifying user credentials against the Active Directory domain controller
  2. Applying dynamic firewall rules to restrict network access based on role attributesAnswer
  3. Enforcing bandwidth throttling policies according to user subscription tiersAnswer
  4. D
    Writing start and stop session timestamps to a central syslog server

Answer

Applying dynamic firewall rules to restrict network access based on role attributes, and enforcing bandwidth throttling policies according to user subscription tiers.
Authorization dictates the specific rights, privileges, and resource access levels allowed for a validated user. Applying dynamic firewall rules based on user role attributes enforces network perimeter permissions, while enforcing bandwidth limits based on user tiers controls resource utilization rights. Both functions explicitly manage permitted access bounds.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define the core responsibility of the Authorization pillar in AAA.
Authorization determines the specific permissions, resource access rights, and operational boundaries granted to an identity after authentication.
Differentiating between identity proofing (Authentication), access control (Authorization), and activity logging (Accounting) is required to categorize each activity.
2
Evaluate each system action in the gateway scenario against AAA definitions.
Credential verification proves identity (Authentication). Writing session timestamps records session metrics for auditing (Accounting). Dynamic firewall rules and bandwidth throttling define what network resources and performance limits the identity is allowed to use (Authorization).
Actions that control or restrict access permissions map to Authorization.
3
Identify the two actions representing Authorization.
Applying dynamic firewall rules based on role attributes and enforcing bandwidth throttling policies based on user tiers.
Both mechanisms enforce permissions and resource usage parameters for authenticated users.

Key Concept

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) Framework
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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