Sections Security Best Practices
Manual informationSecurity Best Practices
1.1 | August 27, 2021 | Rebranded adhering to the latest Conduent brand central documentation standards/guidelines. | Technical Writer
Document conventions
Convention | Explanation |
|---|---|
Bold | For file names, commands, fields, menus, options, and window names. |
Courier New | Commands as you should type them. |
Lucida Console | Example output generated by the system. |
Italics | For configuration variables, including variable portions of file names and URLs. Also indicates a document name. |
Note / Blue Callout | The Blue Callout text indicates information that is of special interest or importance, an idea that could be useful or additional information about a product or a feature. |
| The Caution icon along with the text indicates actions that can lead to problems in system operation or configuration settings if the instructions are not followed properly. |
Revision history
This section tracks the initial creation of the document after each major version thereafter.
Ver: | Date | Description | Reviewed / Approved By |
|---|---|---|---|
1.0 | Aug 16, 2012 | Initial Version | Team |
1.1 | August 27, 2021 | Rebranded adhering to the latest Conduent brand central documentation standards/guidelines. | Technical Writer |
Security Best Practices#
This document provides detailed information specific to Viewpoint security best practices. The Viewpoint environments host an internal and external users. These environments contain sensitive data, often from multiple entities which must be isolated from the data of other entities.
The Viewpoint best practices are a means of achieving the security goals of the solution. It is not required to follow these practices; however, it is highly recommended that any installation that could potentially house live production data consider these practices or develop their own.
Securable Assets#
Viewpoint securable assets.
File Store#
Each Viewpoint environment consists of one or more file stores. Physical copies of data, along with text, images and other extracted files are housed in the file store. File access is managed through Windows file sharing. File store access can be configured so that the data is isolated by entity. Most Viewpoint users need some level of access to the file store.
Processing and Review Databases#
Processing and Review databases contain all information about a project including file paths, statuses, statistics, logs, tags, and other data. The databases also contain information about Viewpoint users, permissions and roles. All Viewpoint users access these databases in the course of their duties.
Worker PC#
A worker PC runs the Viewpoint Worker software. This software is a console application and not a Windows Service. Processing users interact directly with Worker PCs. Reviewers will not directly access these PCs, but may utilize them during common review tasks such as tiff-on-the-fly.
Logins#
Viewpoint logins can have one or more of the following roles:
- Internal Viewpoint Review User
- External Viewpoint Review User
- Viewpoint Processing User
- Viewpoint QC User
- Viewpoint Worker User
- Viewpoint Product Administrator *
The Viewpoint Product Administrator role is the role responsible for performing installations and upgrades, and as such necessarily requires full access to file stores and databases.
Implementation#
Overview#
Viewpoint runs on Microsoft Windows, and leverages Active Directory to secure access to the file store.
Viewpoint make use of database roles to secure database assets. The software also maintains its own list of roles and users, which are configurable through the Viewpoint application. Whenever possible, Viewpoint provides pass-thru user authentication through Active Directory.
Deployment Scenarios#
Viewpoint deployments vary in size and need for isolation of access. The following tables outline recommended implementations by scenario. The differentiating factors are as follows:
- Will external Users be accessing this environment?
- Will this environment house data from multiple entities (is this a multi-tenant environment)?
Primitive Deployment
Name | Use By… | Permissions |
|---|---|---|
Viewpoint | All | Access to all Viewpoint applications. Full Control of the File Store. Granted the Viewpoint User Role (“VP_USER”) in all Viewpoint databases. |
Simple (one-entity) Deployment
Name | Use By… | Permissions |
|---|---|---|
Viewpoint Review | Viewpoint Reviewers | Review application access. Full Control of the File Store. Granted the Viewpoint User Role (“VP_USER”) in all Viewpoint databases. |
Viewpoint Processing | Processing, QC and Worker users | Viewpoint Processing, QC and Worker applications access. Full Control of the File Store. Granted the Viewpoint User Role (“VP_USER”) in all Viewpoint database. |
Multi-Tenant Deployment
Name | Use By… | Permissions |
|---|---|---|
Internal Reviewer | Internal Reviewers | Review Application access. Granted the Viewpoint User Database Role (“VP_USER”) on all Viewpoint Review databases. |
External Reviewer | External Reviewers | Review Application access through remote access (for example, Terminal Server). Granted Viewpoint User Database Role (“VP_USER”) access to Review databases. |
Data Access (multiple) | Reviewers for a specific Entity | File Store access to data for a specific entity. There may be many of these roles – perhaps one role per entity. |
Processing and QC | Processing and QC Users | Processing and QC applications access. Granted Viewpoint User Database Role (“VP_USER”) on all Viewpoint databases. Granted full control of the File Store. Processing users must also be local administrators as some Processing jobs, when performed locally, require this access. |
Worker | Workers | Granted access to Viewpoint Worker application. Granted Viewpoint User Database Role (“VP_USER”) on all Processing databases. Granted full control of the File Store. |
Service Logins#
Viewpoint requires two service logins. These should be unique logins and members of the appropriate Active Directory Group. These logins are:
- Worker Login
- A login utilized by the worker PCs. This login must also be a local administrator. This login should be a member of your Active Directory Group for Viewpoint Processing (varies by deployment). Generally, there is a single Worker User defined for an environment.
- Impersonation Login
- Viewpoint provides a means of impersonating file and database access. These features are useful and often required when establishing access for Worker logins and external Reviewers.
Refer Viewpoint Config.txt Creation Guide for details on implementation.
Database Permissions#
For information on Viewpoint database access, refer the Viewpoint Database Permissions Guide.