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How Cerby manages roles
How Cerby manages roles

This article describes the existing roles in Cerby under the RBAC system and how they are managed.

Cerby Team avatar
Written by Cerby Team
Updated over 3 months ago

At Cerby, we have implemented roles to determine the tasks, functions, or activities each workspace member can or cannot do on our platform.

These roles consist of sets of permissions that are part of a role-based access control (RBAC) system designed to maintain data security, streamline access management, enhance collaboration, comply with regulations, and ensure that sensitive information is protected.

The advantage of using role-based access management is that, after logging in to a Cerby workspace, members are automatically granted permissions depending on their role. For more information, read the Benefits of RBAC section.

Cerby manages roles at multiple levels. This article contains the description of each role, which we have categorized as follows:

Workspace-level roles

Workspace-level roles determine the features of the Cerby platform available to the users, their access privileges, and their responsibilities. The actions users can perform within a workspace according to their role can be categorized as follows:

The following sections describe the actions for each category.

Workspace setup

Table 1 shows the actions users can perform to set up a workspace depending on their role.

Action

Guest user

Login-only

User

Admin

Super Admin

Owner

Perform the initial workspace setup from an invite.

Yes

Set up single sign-on (SSO) and user provisioning with a corporate identity provider (IdP).

Yes*

Yes*

Yes

Access and update the workspace configuration.

Yes

Yes

Yes

* Read-only permissions

Table 1. Workspace setup actions

Workspace management

Table 2 shows the actions users can perform to manage a workspace depending on their role.

Action

Guest user

Login-only

User

Admin

Super Admin

Owner

Access the Activity view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all events within the workspace and for all users through the Activity view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View the events for the items they are Owners through the Activity view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View the billable accounts through the Billing view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access the Automation view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all automation notifications through the Automation view.

Yes

Table 2. Workspace management actions

User management

Table 3 shows the actions users can perform to manage other users depending on their role.

Action

Guest user

Login-only

User

Admin

Super Admin

Owner

Assign Cerby products available to users through the Teams view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Assign or update the workspace-level role of other users.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access the All Members view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all workspace Users, Guest users, and Login-only users through the All Members view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Export a report of users and their accounts through the All Members view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View and invite Guest users.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Remove any Guest user.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access the Teams view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create and manage a self-managed team.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Delete any self-managed team.

Yes

Manage Team Members on all self-managed teams.

Yes

Assign Team Admins for any self-managed team.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all teams and Team Members within a workspace.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View the teams to which they have been assigned and the Team Members.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access the Distribution Lists view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create a distribution list.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all distribution lists within a workspace.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Remove distribution lists to which they are Owners.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Update the name of a distribution list, add or remove members, and delete distribution lists to which they are Owners.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access the Partners view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all partnerships within the workspace.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Add a host-guest partnership.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Approve a host-guest partnership request in the host workspace.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Accept a host-guest partnership request in the guest workspace.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View all guest workspace members with access to the accounts shared through the partnership.

Yes

Yas

Yes

Add and remove a local partner.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Manage users in a local user workspace:

  • Add new users.

  • Update the workspace-level role of other users.

  • Reset two-factor authentication (2FA).

  • Force password reset.

  • Remove users from the workspace.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Invite guest users to join Cerby through the All Members view or the Password Manager Importer.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Table 3. User management actions

Security hygiene tasks

Table 4 shows the security hygiene tasks users can perform depending on their role.

Action

Guest user

Login-only

User

Admin

Super Admin

Owner

Automate turning on 2FA for all Cerby-managed accounts through the Policies view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Automate rotating passwords for all Cerby-managed accounts through the Policies view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Table 4. Security hygiene tasks

Item management

Table 5 shows the actions users can perform to manage items depending on their role.

Action

Guest user

Login-only

User

Admin

Super Admin

Owner

Access the Import report view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Import items into Cerby through the Password Manager Importer.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Add an account, secret, or collection to Cerby.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Save accounts at login and signup.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access the Apps view.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Connect an app integration to Cerby.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Share items to which they have the Owners role and assign the item role to other users (read the Item-level roles section).

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Share items to which they have the Owner role with any Guest User of a local partner.

Yes**

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Turn on All-Access Mode to view all accounts within the workspace and recover accounts by reassigning account Owners.

Yes

Yes

View all the items shared with all teams.

Yes

Yes

** Only when accounts are shared with the Manager role

Table 5. Item management actions

Item-level roles

Item-level roles determine the actions users can perform on items, and they can be categorized as follows according to the item type:

The following sections describe the actions for each item type.

Accounts

Table 6 shows the actions users can perform on accounts depending on their role.

Action

Manager

Collaborator

Owner

Log in to an account.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View the account details.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Copy the password of an account.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View the account notes and custom fields of an account.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View the password of an account.

Yes

Update the account details.

Yes

Share an account with other users.

Yes**+

Yes

Manage shared access to accounts:

  • View the members and teams with shared access to an account.

  • Add and remove Collaborators from an account.

  • Change the role of other users and teams on an account.

Yes

Manage the account security by turning on 2FA or rotating passwords automatically from Cerby.

Yes*

Manage second factors (Cerby-managed email address and phone number) for an account.

Yes

View the Shared Inbox.

Yes

Yes

Yes

View account activity.

Yes

Delete an account.

Yes

*** They can request access for other users.

Table 6. Actions on accounts

Secrets

Table 7 shows the actions users can perform on secrets depending on their role.

Action

Collaborator

Owner

View the content of a secret.

Yes

Yes

Update the details of a secret (name, body, and attachments).

Yes

Manage shared access to secrets:

  • View the users and teams with shared access to a secret.

  • Share a secret with other users.

  • Add and remove Collaborators from a secret.

  • Change the role of other users and teams on a secret.

Yes

Delete a secret.

Yes

Table 7. Actions on secrets

Collections

Table 8 shows the actions users can perform on collections depending on their role.

Action

Collaborator

Owner

View the accounts and secrets within a collection.

Yes

Yes

View the collection details.

Yes

Yes

Update the collection details.

Yes

Manage shared access to secrets:

  • View the users and teams with shared access to a collection.

  • Share a collection with other users.

  • Add and remove Collaborators from a collection.

  • Change the role of other users and teams on a collection.

Yes

Delete a collection.

Yes

Table 8. Actions on collections

Team-level roles

Team-level roles determine the actions users can perform on a self-managed team. Table 9 shows these actions.

Action

Team Member

Team Admin

Receive access as Owner or Collaborator to the items shared through the team.

Yes

Yes

View all the accounts, secrets, and collections shared with the team.

Yes

Yes

Manage the Team Members of a self-managed team:

  • Add and remove Team Members.

  • Assign Team Admins.

Yes

Remove a self-managed team.

Yes

Table 9. Actions on teams

Partnership-level roles

Partnership-level roles determine the actions users can perform on host and guest workspaces and on local partners. Table 10 shows the actions on a host-guest partnership:

Action

Manager

Guest workspace Admin

Host workspace Admin

Partnership Owner

Share accounts to which they have the Owner role with a guest workspace.

Yes

Remove accounts shared with a guest workspace.

Yes

Receive access as Collaborator or Manager to the accounts shared through the partnership.

Yes

View all guest workspace members with access to the accounts shared through the partnership.

Yes

Yes

Manage users in the host workspace.

Yes

Manage users in the guest workspace.

Yes

Send requests to item Owners from the host workspace asking them to share an account.

Yes

Remove a host-guest partnership.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Table 10. Actions on host-guest partnerships

Table 11 shows the actions users can perform on a local partner:

Action

Manager

Guest user

Guest Admin

User

Host Admin

Share items to which they have the Owner role with a local partner.

Yes

Receive access as Collaborator or Manager to the accounts shared through a local partner.

Yes

Send requests to item Owners asking them to share an account.

Yes

Invite Guest Users to a local partner.

Yes

Yes

Assign a Host Admin to a local partner.

Yes

Manage guest members of a local partner:

  • Update the role of Guest Admins and Guest Users.

  • Remove Guest Admins and Guest Users from a local partner.

Yes

Yes

Table 11. Actions on local partners

Benefits of RBAC

The following are the benefits of using the RBAC system in Cerby:

  • Enhanced security: Access to sensitive data and features is restricted. Only users with specific roles can perform critical actions, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.

  • Access control: Fine-grained control over what users can and cannot do. Administrators can assign roles and permissions according to each user's job responsibilities.

  • Compliance and auditing: Organizations can implement access controls and audit trails, which are essential for demonstrating data security and compliance with industry and legal standards.

  • Streamlined onboarding and offboarding: New employees can be quickly assigned the appropriate roles and permissions while departing employees can have their access revoked just as easily.

  • Efficient collaboration: Users have the necessary access to work together effectively. RBAC allows organizations to balance the need for collaboration with the need for data security.

  • Resource management: RBAC assists in optimizing resource allocation. It ensures that resources are used efficiently and that access to costly or limited resources is restricted to only those who require them.

  • Transparency: RBAC offers transparency in access control, making it clear who has access to what resources and why. This transparency can foster trust and accountability within an organization.

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