Least Privilege
The principle of granting only the access needed for a task and no more.
Plain English
Give each person or system the minimum permissions required.
In context
Least privilege limits damage from mistakes compromised accounts and vulnerable services.
Example
“The deployment job should use a least-privilege credential.”
When you'll hear this
- security review
- system design
- access management
Common misunderstanding
Least privilege still requires enough access for reliable operation and recovery.
Also known as
principle of least privilege
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-25
