Question

Explain the differences between rights and permissions within Windows. Define the principle of least privilege and provide examples of how this principle is applied to user accounts and groups in an organization.

Answer 1

Definitions provided by Microsoft:

Permissions:

A permission is authorization to perform an operation on a specific object, such as a file. Permissions are granted by owners. If you own an object, you can grant any user or security group permission to do whatever you are authorized to do with it. This includes granting permission to take ownership.

User Rights:

A user right is authorization to perform an operation that affects an entire computer rather than a specific object on the computer.

The distinction matters more when you start using a Role Based Access Control model. For example I would never intentionally grant a user permission to access my system. Instead, I would tell that user to request membership in an access group that has those rights.

The principle of least privilege (POLP), an important concept in computer security, is the practice of limiting access rights for users to the bare minimum permissions they need to perform their work. Under POLP, users are granted permission to read, write or execute only the files or resources they need to do their jobs: In other words, the least amount of privilege necessary.

Additionally, the principle of least privilege can be applied to restricting access rights for applications, systems, processes and devices to only those permissions required to perform authorized activities.

As an essential aspect of IT security, the principle of least privilege is one of the most important security policies enterprises must enforce. It is designed to improve the protection of data and functionality from faults, i.e., fault tolerance, as well as from malicious behavior. Organizations that follow the principle of least privilege ensure that users don't have more access to systems and data than they need to do their jobs.

For example, an HR staffer may need read and write access to the enterprise payroll database, but that same employee would have no need to access the enterprise client database; at the same time, an employee in the sales department would need access to the client database, but would be denied access to the payroll database.

Ensuring that employees are assigned the correct privileges prevents giving employees access to systems they don't need while also preventing malicious workers from accessing systems or data outside of their job functions. In addition, if an employee's credentials are compromised, the thief can only gain that employee's privileges.

However, the principle of least privilege isn't just about taking away privileges from users who don't need them. It is also about monitoring and managing access for those who do need access such as software developers.

Security teams should use privileged access management tools to audit their development environments to prevent privilege creep, the gradual accumulation of access rights beyond what developers need to do their jobs. Teams should also monitor when and how developers use their accounts so security information and event management tools can immediately identify irregular activity.