The present invention provides techniques for granting access to secured data. An access candidate may access some or all of the secured data by gaining access to two sequential levels of security. The first security level secures access to the resources used to manipulate the secured data and the second security level secures access to the secured data by the resources. Attributes associated with the access candidate are considered in deciding whether to grant or deny access to the resources. Based on a comparison of access requirements of the secured data with the applicable attributes of the access candidate, a decision on whether to grant access to the requested portions of the secured data is made. If access is not prohibited, the access candidate may use the resources to access the secured data. If access is prohibited without authorization, a resolution request may be submitted to a resolution authority.