Is hiding tables enough to prevent access?

[ovonel]

I have a typical fact table with dimensions Project, Profit Center, etc

In a report, I have a table visual that shows individual numbers; and another table shows the department numbers…

It looks something like this:

(Left: personal numbers. Right: department numbers)

My goal is that Tim shouldn’t be able to see someone else’s number, but he definitely can (and should) see the aggregated numbers for his department.

I realized that someone accessing from PowerBI or excel can connect to the model and play with the tables, pick another name and see someone else’s number, therefore I have hidden most tables...

But now, I just realized, someone with access can connect from Visual Studio to the SSAS:

The person can open the .bim, unhide all tables, and with the “analyze from excel” option in VS see any numbers…

Is there any way to avoid/prevent this?

More info:

My model:

(Project table has columns Lead1,Lead2,Lead3,Lead4,Lead5 and Lead6… Engagement Role is just an unpivot of this).

On my left visual I have:

(triggering a more restrictive access).

My RLS:

[Greg_Deckler · Accepted solution]

@ovonel Hiding tables is not a security thing, it is a convenience to make self-service BI a better experience. Hiding tables affords no real security. RLS and OLS are the only real security features. Typically, your type of scenario is done using dynamic RLS where you tie the RLS rules to the user's USERPRINCIPALNAME. The aggregations are stored in a separate table that does not enforce RLS.