What is Least privilege?

Give every person and system only the access they need to do their job, and nothing more.

In plain English

Extra access is extra risk. If an account is stolen or a mistake is made, the damage is limited to what that account could reach. Least privilege is applied by granting narrow roles, removing access when a job changes, and avoiding shared admin accounts. It also applies to services and applications, not only people.

Example

A payroll clerk can open payroll records but cannot change the firewall. A reporting tool gets read-only access to a database rather than full control.

Easy to confuse with

• Zero trust: Least privilege limits what an identity can do. Zero trust is the wider approach of checking every request instead of trusting a network location.

Where you will meet it

This idea belongs to the subject area of these practice tests. We do not publish or predict real exam questions.

• ISC2 CC practice tests
• AWS AIF-C01 practice tests
• KCSA practice tests
• CompTIA Tech+ practice tests

Related terms

• Zero trust: A security approach that never assumes a request is safe just because it comes from inside the network.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Proving who you are with two or more different kinds of evidence.
• Shared responsibility model: The cloud provider secures the cloud itself, and you secure what you put in it.

Written and checked by the Be Ready Education team, last reviewed 2 November 2026. General study information, not professional advice. Providers change names and rules, so confirm details on the official documentation. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any certification vendor or exam body. Certification names, exam codes and product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to identify the exam a practice product prepares for. Our questions are original and are not actual exam questions.