Security Beginner

What is Principle of Least Privilege?

A security principle where users and programs receive only the minimum access rights needed to perform their specific tasks.

Least privilege minimizes the damage potential of compromised accounts, bugs, and insider threats. Implementation includes: database users with table-specific permissions (not superuser), application service accounts with restricted file system access, IAM roles with specific actions on specific resources, sudo rules for specific commands (not ALL), container processes running as non-root, and API keys with scoped permissions. In PostgreSQL, GRANT SELECT ON specific_table TO app_user is preferred over granting all privileges. This principle applies at every level: operating system, database, application, API, and cloud infrastructure. Regular access reviews ensure privileges stay minimal.

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A security model that requires strict identity verification for every user and device, regardless of their network location.

Vulnerability Scanning

Automated testing that identifies known security weaknesses in systems, applications, and network infrastructure.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack

An attack where the attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly.

An authorization framework that allows third-party applications to access user resources without sharing passwords.

The process of converting readable data into an unreadable format using algorithms, reversible only with the correct key.

DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing)

Testing a running application from the outside by sending malicious requests to discover security vulnerabilities.

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