# Security and access

Set the policies that determine who and what can access Altertable. Start with access control and principals, then review how data and credentials are protected.

## Choose the control

- [Access control](/docs/administration/access-control.md) defines the organization, environment, and catalog roles a member or service account receives.
- [Principals and credentials](/docs/administration/principals.md) explains human and machine identities and their authentication methods.
- [Network access](/docs/administration/network.md) explains how Workers reach restricted data sources through allowlists or SSH tunnels.
- [Encryption](/docs/administration/encryption.md) explains protection for stored data and connections.

When connecting an agent, [MCP scopes](/docs/agents/mcp.md#pin-a-scope) limit the tools it can use. Resource permissions still determine which data and objects those tools can access.