Which type of employee access management is useful for preventing unauthorized access to sensitive systems or data?

Role-based access control (RBAC) is designed to restrict system access to authorized users based on their role within an organization. In RBAC, permissions are assigned to roles rather than to individual users. When employees are assigned roles, they inherit the necessary permissions to perform their tasks, which significantly increases security by limiting access to sensitive systems or data only to those who need it to fulfill their job responsibilities.

This approach minimizes the risk of unauthorized access, as employees cannot access information or systems that fall outside their designated role. Furthermore, RBAC simplifies the management of user permissions, making it easier for administrators to maintain security standards and ensure that access rights remain up-to-date as employees change roles or leave the organization.

While other access control models like discretionary access control (DAC) and mandatory access control (MAC) have their applications, they may not be as effective in enforcing the principle of least privilege across various roles within an organization. Time-based access control, on the other hand, restricts access based on specific timeframes but does not inherently evaluate or validate user roles. Thus, RBAC stands out as the most effective method for preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems in a structured manner.