Minimum privileges, what are they and why are they needed?

18 January 2024 5 minutes Author: D2-R2

The principle of least privilege in cybersecurity ensures that users and applications have access to only necessary resources, reducing risks to sensitive data and critical systems. Restricting rights reduces opportunities for attacks, prevents information leakage and minimizes the attack surface, which is especially important for protection against insider and external threats. The article discusses in detail the methods of applying this approach to improve access management and security of the IT environment.

How the principle of least privilege works

The principle of least privilege is also called the “principle of least privilege” or, less commonly, the “principle of least rights.” In English, it is often called Principle of least privilege (PoLP) or Principle of minimal privilege (PoMP), and sometimes – Principle of least authority (PoLA).

The main idea of the principle of least privilege is that access to resources in the system should be organized in such a way that any subject of the system has access to only those resources that are minimally necessary for the successful performance of the work tasks of this subject. and no other resources. that’s exactly how it is.

In practice, we can talk about different systems and different subjects within the system. However, from the point of view of applying the principle of least privilege to ensure business security, it can be rephrased as follows. In other words, all users of the organization’s information infrastructure should have the right to access only the data they need to perform their duties.

If a user needs access to information to which he does not have access in order to perform his work, his rights may be extended. Permanently if his role requires it, or temporarily if needed to complete a one-off project or task (in the latter case it’s called a “brace of authority”).

Conversely, if for some reason a user no longer needs access to certain information, their rights should be reduced according to the principle of least privilege.

In particular, the principle of least privilege means that ordinary users should not be granted administrative or superuser rights. Such rights are not necessary for the direct performance of the duties of an ordinary employee, but at the same time they significantly increase the risks.

Why is the principle of least privilege necessary?

The principle of minimum privileges helps to improve the management of access to resources within the organization and generally to improve the security of the company’s information infrastructure. Let’s list several important goals that can be achieved by applying the principle of least privileges.

  1. Risk reduction. By limiting access to the minimum that users need to perform tasks, the likelihood of accidental or intentional privilege abuse can be significantly reduced. This, in turn, helps to reduce the risks of successful penetration of corporate infrastructure and unauthorized access to corporate resources.

  2. Data protection. Restricting access helps protect sensitive data. Users only have access to the data they need to do their jobs, reducing the likelihood that sensitive information will be accessed or, worse, leaked or stolen.

  3. Minimizing the attack surface. Restricting user rights makes it more difficult for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities and use malware and hacking tools that depend on the privileges of the attacked user. This reduces the attack surface.

  4. Localization of security incidents. When an organization’s network is penetrated, the principle of least privilege helps limit the scope of the incident and its consequences. Because compromised accounts have minimal privileges, this reduces the extent of potential damage and makes it difficult to spread horizontally within a system or network.

  5. Identification of responsible users. Minimizing rights helps to significantly narrow the circle of users who may be responsible for an incident. This accelerates the identification of the culprits during the investigation of the consequences of security incidents or any unauthorized actions.

  6. Compliance with requirements and standards. Many regulatory requirements and standards emphasize the need for access control and, in particular, the importance of applying the principle of least privilege. Compliance with industry standards and best practices helps organizations avoid unpleasant consequences and sanctions.

  7. Improvement of operational efficiency. Application of the principle of least privileges leads to a reduction of risks for the organization’s information infrastructure. In addition, downtime related to security incidents is reduced, which in turn helps improve the company’s operational efficiency.

How to implement the principle of least privilege in your organization

The implementation of the principle of minimum privileges in the information infrastructure of the organization can be conditionally divided into several basic steps and tasks:

  • Conduct an inventory of resources and audit the rights to access them that users currently have.

  • Classify resources and create a model for managing access to them based on roles, each of which is assigned certain rights.

  • As a baseline, assign users to roles with minimal rights and elevate their privileges only when necessary to perform their functions.

  • Regularly audit and review rights — reduce privileges to those users who no longer need access to certain resources to perform their work duties.

  • Apply the principle of privilege bracketing: in the case where a user needs access to more resources to perform a task, try to use a temporary privilege elevation instead of a permanent one.

Do not forget about other protective measures

Of course, only applying the principle of least privilege is not enough to secure the company’s information infrastructure. This also requires a number of other measures:

  • Regular security audit.

  • Timely software update.

  • Training employees in the basics of cyber security.

  • Using reliable protection for all corporate devices.

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