Information Security Basics
Which practice follows the principle of least privilege?
- AGiving everyone administrator rights to save effort
- BLetting everyone read and write every file to simplify permission settings
- CGiving users and programs only the minimum rights needed for their work, and doing everyday work with a non-administrator account
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Giving users and programs only the minimum rights needed for their work, and doing everyday work with a non-administrator account
The principle of least privilege means giving users, programs and service accounts only the minimum rights needed to do their job. With limited rights, the damage can be kept small even when an account is taken over, malware runs or someone makes a mistake. For example, everyday email and web browsing is done with a standard account, and administrator rights are used only for tasks that need them. For information there is the related idea of need-to-know, in which only people who need the information for their work can access it. Promptly revoking rights that are no longer needed after a transfer or departure is also important.
- A. If everyone has administrator rights, taking over a single account puts the whole system at risk.
- B. If people who do not need it for work can read and write, the scope of leaks and tampering grows.
- C. Correct. Giving only the minimum rights needed keeps the scope of damage small.