Principle of Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege is a security rule stating that each account, process or system should have only the permissions necessary for its task, for only as long as needed.

Why it matters

If an account is compromised, its permissions define the damage. A support agent who can only read tickets cannot dump the customer database, and a web app with a restricted database user limits the impact of SQL injection. Regular access reviews remove permissions that accumulate over time.

Example

A backup script needs to read files and write to one bucket. Instead of an admin cloud key, it gets a role limited to s3:PutObject on backups/*, so a leaked key cannot delete anything or read other data.

Common mistakes

• Granting admin rights for convenience and never removing them.
• Sharing one powerful account among a team.
• Forgetting service accounts and API keys in access reviews.

Related

• Zero trust
• SQL injection
• Security audit
• Ransomware

This page is general information written by our editorial team and updated when documentation changes. Servers and providers differ, so test changes safely first. See our editorial policy and disclaimer.