![]() Privilege creep: Privilege creep is the gradual accumulation of access rights. The following terms and concepts relate to PoLP and define particular scenarios that relate to the implementation of an effective PoLP strategy. As a result, system administrators need to monitor their environment and continuously ensure that PoLP is enforced in the strictest possible terms. Managing the information security of an environment by implementing the principle of least privilege is not an event but a process. For instance, it provides data security and audit capabilities, improving compliance and reporting. ![]() In addition to reducing the attack surface, PoLP limits the potential damage and improves the management and maintainability of a technology environment. The fewer people with privileged access to a system or data, the less risk to the system from an attack or user error. The same rule applies to information security. Similarly, if every staff member has keys to the safe, the likelihood of them falling into the wrong hands increases exponentially.Īs illustrated in the analogy, the principle of least privilege reduces the potential attack surface. If a bank robber enters a bank where everyone has access to the safe, robbing that bank would be far easier than another bank where only the manager has the keys. As a result, the manager is the only individual with the keys. Applying the principle of least privilege, the manager needs access to the safe. ![]() Consider a bank with general staff and a bank manager. The following analogy illustrates the principle of least privilege in both scenarios. Similarly, it protects an organization from downtime or data breaches due to user error. As threat actors follow the path of least resistance when trying to obtain unauthorized access to a system, PoLP fortifies systems by reducing the number of potential access points. The primary objective of the principle of least privilege is to enhance the security of an application, network, or technology environment. Similarly, an application's service account that can access confidential information in a database, such as customer credit card details, is another example of a privileged account. For example, a system administrator that can apply updates, add users, and restart an application is a privileged account. Privileged accounts can refer to user accounts or system accounts with greater access to system functions or stored data. Information security practice typically categorizes accounts as either privileged or non-privileged. For example, some users may only be able to execute particular functions, while others may be able to do more such as restart the application or apply updates. It is also used to define what users can do on a system. For instance, it determines which users can access a particular file or which devices can access a specific network. The word privilege in this context refers to system rights or data access. It states that any user, device, workload, or process should only have the bare minimum privileges it needs to perform its intended function. The principle of least privilege (PoLP), also known as the principle of minimal privilege or the principle of least authority, is an information security concept.
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