Gatekeeper – a software component or system that performs the function of access control to resources and security verification in information technology. Gatekeeper acts as a “doorkeeper,” allowing or prohibiting actions in accordance with established rules and policies.
Gatekeeper controls access to systems, applications, or data by checking the compliance of requests with established security criteria. It can be viewed as an intermediate protective link between the user (or application) and the protected services.
Principle of Operation
A typical Gatekeeper operates as follows:
- Request receipt – interception of a request for access to a protected resource.
- Legitimacy verification – analysis of the request for compliance with established rules and policies.
- Decision making – permission, blocking, or modification of the request based on verification results.
- Logging – recording information about actions for audit and analysis.
Advantages of Using
Implementing a Gatekeeper system provides several important advantages:
- Centralized control of access to resources;
- Protection against malicious software and unauthorized access;
- Single point for ensuring security policy;
- Audit of user actions;
- Reduced risk of system compromise or data leakage.
Gatekeeper is a necessary component of a multi-layered protection system in modern IT infrastructures, helping organizations protect their resources from various threats and control access to sensitive information.
Other Meanings of the Term Gatekeeper
The term “Gatekeeper” is used in various IT contexts:
- macOS Gatekeeper – a built-in security mechanism in the macOS local system, which subsequently launches applications before their execution, preventing the execution of standard software requirements.
- Network security – systems controlling traffic between networks with different security levels, filtering based on security policy (complementary to firewalls).
- API gateways – components managing access to APIs, providing authentication, authorization, usage limit verification, and protection against threats.
- Microservice management – mechanisms controlling interaction between different microservices in distributed networks.
- Access control systems – solutions for managing user rights when accessing corporate resources and applications.