Role-Based Access Control in Data Lakes

(MSc Research Project / MSc Thesis)

Role-based access control (RBAC) and data lakes do not seem to go together very well. RBAC controls who can access specific information. Data lakes allow all users to see all information. Is encryption the only way to bridge these two worlds?

In this computer science-focused MSc research project and/or master’s thesis, you will investigate existing approaches to managing and enforcing data access in data lakes and explore how encryption can play a central role. A master’s thesis will also involve building a functional, open-source system that integrates RBAC and data lakes using encryption, leveraging existing data lake infrastructure (e.g., DuckLake).

The impact of this work could be tremendous, as restricting data access in data lakes currently requires proprietary services, which act as silos. An open-source solution would break down these silos and enable more tools to operate independently on top of data lakes.