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NIST 800-171 R-3.1.5

Employ the Principle of Least Privilege

Official citation: 3.1.5

Class: core · Severity: critical

Statement of the obligation — verify against source

3.1.5

What it means

Give every account and process the minimum access needed to do its job and no more — especially privileged/administrator accounts and security functions such as setting up accounts, configuring logging, tuning intrusion detection, and granting permissions. Restrict privileged accounts to specific people or roles so day-to-day users can't reach privileged functions, and apply least privilege to development and operations as well.

Educational reference only — not legal advice. Consult a qualified assessor or attorney for binding compliance determinations.