Least privilege
principle of least privilege · PoLP · need to know · just-in-time access · moindre privilège
The principle that every user, application or service receives only the rights strictly needed for its job, and only for as long as it needs them.
In practice
An accountant does not need to administer servers, and a web application does not need to be the administrator of its own database. Administrative tasks are carried out with separate accounts reserved for that purpose, ideally granted “just in time” for a specific job. The principle limits the damage of a compromise: the attacker inherits only what the stolen account could do. In the cloud, roles with overly broad permissions are among the most common misconfigurations.
Fictional case: a salesperson’s laptop is infected with ransomware. Because the user is not a local administrator and can only reach their team’s folders, only those shares are encrypted; finance and the servers are untouched.
How to protect yourself
- Remove local administrator rights from workstations.
- Separate everyday accounts from administration accounts.
- Grant sensitive access for a limited time, after approval.
- Remove rights that are no longer used during periodic reviews.
