ABAC
In plain terms
Access control based on attributes of users, resources, and context.
Going deeper
Attribute-Based Access Control grants access by evaluating policies over attributes (role, department, time, location) rather than fixed roles alone. It's flexible and fine-grained.
Under the hood
More expressive than RBAC for complex rules; policies can consider many dynamic factors.
Examples
Fine-grained authorization, policy engines, context-aware access, cloud IAM.
Think of it like...
Like a smart lock that opens based on who you are, when it is, and where you're standing.