Map the retrieval pipeline
A typical workflow collects documents, extracts text, creates searchable representations, retrieves relevant passages, and supplies them to a model. Each stage can introduce a separate store or permission decision. Identify the original source, indexing job, retrieval service, model call, cache, and user interface. “The documents are internal” does not describe who may read which ones.
Check access before content reaches the model
Filtering the final answer is too late if unauthorized material has already been supplied as context. The retrieval layer should select material the current user may access. Determine how source permissions are represented, how group membership is resolved, and how access changes reach the index. Test the behavior rather than relying solely on a configuration description.
Keep document trust separate from relevance
A highly relevant document may contain hostile instructions or outdated guidance. Record provenance and version information. Use approved collections for workflows that need controlled sources. Treat retrieved material as evidence to interpret, and preserve the distinction between its contents and instructions governing the application. Relevance ranking is not a security classification.
Test changes and derived copies
Remove a sample user’s permission and confirm their queries no longer retrieve the protected material. Update or delete a document and inspect the index and cache. Include multi-tenant boundaries if the product serves several customers. Test direct requests and indirect queries that could reveal details without asking for the document by name.
Make uncertainty visible to the reader
Show supporting sources where useful and provide a route to the original document. A citation helps readers investigate, but it does not guarantee that an answer faithfully represents the source. Test factual grounding, missing information, and whether the assistant declines to answer when the evidence is insufficient. Access protection and answer quality need separate checks.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
A useful next step
- Diagram source, index, retrieval, model, and cache.
- Test two identities with different access.
- Verify revocation and deletion propagation.
- Check a well-cited but misleading answer.
Keep the result: record the decision, owner, supporting evidence, and the next review trigger.
Go to the source
These links support further learning. The worked example and practical exercise are SyruSec’s own educational interpretation.
