This blog provides show notes for our April 17 webinar, Mastering Row-Level Security (RLS) in Bold BI®: Secure Multitenant Data Access for Authenticated and Anonymous Users. The session was presented and hosted by Rajendran SP, Senior Product Manager at Bold BI.
Overview
In this webinar, we explored how RLS in Bold BI empowers organizations to deliver personalized data experiences while maintaining strong security for both authenticated users and anonymous users accessing embedded dashboards.
Key topics covered
- Understanding RLS configuration: Learn how to set up RLS for authenticated users so they only see data aligned with their roles and permissions.
- Using built-in filtering tools: Discover the built-in filtering features of Bold BI and how to apply external parameters to fine-tune user-specific data access.
- Managing group-based permissions for anonymous users: See how RLS can be enforced for anonymous users accessing embedded dashboards, without needing to manage individual user identities.
- Passing external parameters: Learn how external parameters can be used for dynamic filtering and tailoring the dashboard view for each user.
- Embedding dashboards with security: Learn to embed dashboards in apps by using secure embed settings in Bold BI, which support both authenticated user access and anonymous embedding with custom filters and group rules.
- Single vs. multitenant environments: Learn how Bold BI supports both single-tenant and multitenant architectures within a single dashboard design by using custom attributes and dynamic database switching.
- Tracking with usage analytics: Gain insight into how built-in usage analytics in Bold BI make auditing and compliance effortless.
Best practices
- Store embed secrets securely on the server side.
- Use HTTPS for all embedded communications.
- Leverage custom attributes for tenant isolation.
- Choose anonymous access for external-facing dashboards.
- Regularly review the usage analytics dashboard.
Q&A
Q: What is row-level security?
A: Row-level security (RLS) is a method used to control the data visibility for each user in a dashboard. It ensures that every user only sees the data relevant to them, providing a secure and personalized viewing experience.
Q: Why does RLS matter in multitenant BI?
A: Whether using a shared or separate database per tenant, RLS ensures that users can access only their own data, maintaining strict data isolation and privacy. Bold BI enables a single BI instance to securely serve multiple tenants by filtering data based on customer-specific attributes, such as tenant ID.
Q: How can you track and monitor who is accessing dashboards, especially for compliance auditing and internal governance?
A: The Usage Analytics dashboard (in the Usage Analytics category) in Bold BI shows when and which authenticated or anonymous users access specific dashboards, the resources they used, and actions they performed (e.g., view, export, filter). This insight supports usage monitoring, compliance auditing, and internal governance.
If you missed the webinar or would like to watch it again, you can find the recording on our YouTube, or watch it below.
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Summary
In this webinar, we explored how to securely embed dashboards for both authenticated users in Bold BI® and anonymous guest users. We demonstrated how to use RLS to ensure that each user sees only the data they’re authorized to view based on their identity, role, or access level. We hope you enjoyed the session! Be sure to stay tuned for upcoming Bold BI webinars.
