Which process is responsible for granting access rights to users, programs, or processes?

The process that is responsible for granting access rights to users, programs, or processes is authorization. Authorization occurs after a user or entity has been authenticated, which verifies their identity. Once authentication is complete, authorization determines what resources the authenticated user or process has permission to access and what actions they are allowed to perform.

In most security models, authorization specifies the access level, such as read, write, execute, or modify permissions, based on the user's role or predefined policies. This function is critical for ensuring that users can only access the data and systems necessary for their roles, which helps protect sensitive information and maintain overall security within a cloud environment.

In contrast, authentication focuses on verifying that a user is who they claim to be, while access control relates to the overall policies and mechanisms used for managing permissions and rights in a system. Provisioning, on the other hand, generally refers to the process of setting up accounts and resources for users or applications, which may include both authentication and authorization aspects.