Role-based Access Control for AI Data in PostgreSQL

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Role-based Access Control (RBAC) is an approach to restricting system access to authorized users. It is a fundamental aspect of database administration, ensuring the security and integrity of the data. PostgreSQL, being a powerful open-source relational database, supports a comprehensive set of RBAC features.

To implement RBAC for AI data in PostgreSQL using Pulumi, you might typically proceed as follows:

1. **Define PostgreSQL Roles**: Roles in PostgreSQL are similar to groups and are used to assign and manage privileges on database objects.
2. **Create Database Schemas**: Schemas help organize database objects and can represent different aspects such as application layers or service domains.
3. **Assign Object Privileges to Roles**: Grant necessary privileges on tables, schemas or other objects to the defined roles.
4. **Associate Users with Roles**: Create users and assign them to appropriate roles based on the level of access they should have.

In the example Pulumi program below, we will create roles, then a PostgreSQL schema to organize AI data, and finally assign specific access privileges on the schema to these roles.

```python
import pulumi
import pulumi_postgresql as postgresql

# Step 1: Define PostgreSQL Roles
ai_reader_role = postgresql.Role("ai_reader_role",
    name="ai_reader",
    login=False,
)

ai_writer_role = postgresql.Role("ai_writer_role",
    name="ai_writer",
    login=False,
)

# Step 2: Create a PostgreSQL Schema
ai_data_schema = postgresql.Schema("ai_data_schema",
    name="ai_data",
    # Assume that the database has been created outside of Pulumi
    # and we're referencing it here. The `owner` attribute specifies
    # the database role that will own the schema.
    owner="postgres", # Replace with appropriate role or admin user
    database="your_database_name", # Replace with your database name
)

# Step 3: Assign Object Privileges to Roles
ai_schema_read_grant = postgresql.Grant("ai_schema_read_grant",
    database="your_database_name", # Replace with your database name
    role=ai_reader_role.name,
    schema=ai_data_schema.name,
    object_type="schema",
    privileges=["USAGE"], # Granting only usage rights
)

ai_schema_write_grant = postgresql.Grant("ai_schema_write_grant",
    database="your_database_name", # Replace with your database name
    role=ai_writer_role.name,
    schema=ai_data_schema.name,
    object_type="schema",
    privileges=["CREATE", "USAGE"], # Granting create and usage rights
)

# Step 4: Associate Users with Roles
# Users are not directly created with Pulumi. Instead, you can assign roles to
# users by managing their role memberships, assuming the users are created in
# PostgreSQL by some other means (e.g., manually, by some user management system, or by a Pulumi component).
ai_user_membership_reader = postgresql.Role("ai_user_membership_reader",
    name="some_reader_user",  # Replace with your reader user's name
    roles=[ai_reader_role.name],
    login=True,  # Attribute setting whether a role can be used to log in
)

ai_user_membership_writer = postgresql.Role("ai_user_membership_writer",
    name="some_writer_user",  # Replace with your writer user's name
    roles=[ai_writer_role.name],
    login=True,
)

# Note: Managing user passwords or other sensitive credentials should be done
# securely, such as using Pulumi's secret management system.

# Export the schema name for reference in other parts of the infrastructure
pulumi.export("ai_data_schema_name", ai_data_schema.name)
```

This Pulumi program defines two roles, `ai_reader` and `ai_writer`, with different access privileges. The `ai_data` schema is created to contain AI related data, and access is controlled through the `ai_schema_read_grant` and `ai_schema_write_grant` grants.

The creation of actual user accounts in PostgreSQL is not shown here, as that often involves sensitive information like passwords. These could be managed using Pulumi's secret management functionality but typically user creation is a one-time administrative task and may not be included in infrastructure code.

You should replace `your_database_name` with the actual name of your target database, and the user names `some_reader_user` and `some_writer_user` with the actual PostgreSQL user accounts you wish to control access for.

The Pulumi program will then roll out these changes when applied, setting up the necessary RBAC for AI data management within PostgreSQL.