Book excerpt: PART OF THE NEW JONES & BARTLETT LEARNING INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY & ASSURANCE SERIES! Access control protects resources against unauthorized viewing, tampering, or destruction. They serve as a primary means of ensuring privacy, confidentiality, and prevention of unauthorized disclosure. The first part of Access Control, Authentication, and Public Key Infrastructure defines the components of access control, provides a business framework for implementation, and discusses legal requirements that impact access contol programs. It then looks at the risks, threats, and vulnerabilities prevalent in information systems and IT infrastructures and how to handle them. The final part is a resource for students and professionals which disucsses putting access control systems to work as well as testing and managing them.