How is content access control and user permissions managed in IT knowledge bases built with DITA?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

In IT knowledge bases constructed with DITA, managing content access control and user permissions is a fundamental aspect of ensuring that sensitive or restricted information is only accessible to authorized users. This involves defining and implementing access policies and permissions at various levels of the documentation.

User Roles and Permissions

One of the key components is the definition of user roles and their associated permissions. For instance, administrators may have full access and editing rights, while regular users might only have read-only access. These roles and their corresponding permissions are typically managed through user management systems or role-based access control (RBAC) mechanisms.

Access Control Lists (ACLs)

DITA knowledge bases often utilize Access Control Lists (ACLs) to specify who can access or modify specific topics or sections. ACLs define the permissions for users or user groups, allowing fine-grained control over who can perform actions such as reading, editing, or deleting content. ACLs are attached to specific documents or topics and can be inherited hierarchically.

Example:

Here’s an example of how ACLs are implemented in DITA for content access control:


<topic id="confidential-topic">
  <title>Confidential Document</title>
  <metadata>
    <permission>
      <role>Admin</role>
      <access>read-write</access>
    </permission>
    <permission>
      <role>User</role>
      <access>read</access>
    </permission>
  </metadata>
  <body>
    <p>This is a confidential document with restricted access.</p>
  </body>
</topic>

In this example, the DITA topic “Confidential Document” has defined permissions. Administrators with the “Admin” role have read-write access, while regular users with the “User” role have read-only access to this confidential document.