#Concept of least privilege how to#
#Concept of least privilege update#
#Concept of least privilege password#

Mishandling stock, SKUs or product metadata on e-commerce stores.

Altering themes, customized features or public-facing website content.

It also means your entire WordPress backend is at risk of some otherwise unauthorized person, such as someone with inappropriate levels of access, adding new users and giving them access to areas of the website where they can cause deliberate harm.

#Concept of least privilege update#

External blog post contributors such as partners, freelancers and clients, with perhaps a smattering of WordPress knowledge, who may even ‘helpfully’ download or update plugins on your website – without asking.

#Concept of least privilege how to#

Those who don’t know how to deal with reported errors or other problems.

Those with limited security awareness creating new users or changing permissions of existing users.

With no knowledge of the implications of downloading new WordPress versions or plugins at will, or of updating them without first making a backup.

Those with little WordPress administration experience.

New user starts with little understanding of the business implications of mistakes on a WordPress website.

Otherwise, aren’t you leaving the website entirely at the whim of any logged-in user – including those who may make innocent and inadvertent mistakes, and may not even be aware they’ve made them, nor of the unintended outcomes? What are the risks if PoLP is not applied?Ĭontrolling access to certain areas seems a no-brainer.

#Concept of least privilege password#

The same goes for all sorts of privileged company accounts, file management systems, marketing strategy documentation or password managers. Your finance freelancer who needs to download the monthly invoices does not need the same level of access as the website administrator. The simple answer is that it applies everywhere: from that toddler who wants to climb the stairs to the users on your WordPress website hosting account. When and where does the Principle of Least Privilege apply? Access control prevents damage to you and your users’ valued property – whether it’s a physical item or digital collateral. And, your fancy restaurant’s parking attendant will require your ID or ticket before handing back the keys to your car. In a shared, public coworking space, you’d log off your laptop before leaving for lunch. So, you fit an access control device, such as a safety gate, at various points through your home to enable them to wander at will – except for certain rooms. Your toddlers do not often need access to the kitchen. The principle of least privilege (PoLP) is also known as the ‘principle of least authority’, the ‘principle of minimal privileges’ or the ‘least privileged user account’ (LUA). Each of them needs access to more or less of your website’s backend. In terms of a typical WordPress website with a blog, think of your editors, authors, contributors and subscribers. The idea is very simple: do not grant a user account, process or program more access rights than it needs to accomplish its designated tasks. What is the Principle of Least Privilege? Using the Principle of Least Privilege for WordPress and beyond.

Universities and educational institutions.Why do many website owners neglect the principle of least privilege in WordPress?.What are the risks if PoLP is not applied?.When and where does the Principle of Least Privilege apply?.What is the Principle of Least Privilege?.This blog post includes a few mini case studies to help illustrate its use in real settings.

We also share some practical recommendations, so that you can immediately begin to improve the security of your WordPress websites. In this blog post, we first define the principle of least privilege, then examine when and where it applies, the risks of not adopting it, and why many website developers still are not building it into their WordPress websites. Yet it is one of the most effective, if overlooked, security best practices for WordPress websites. The principle of least privilege for WordPress misses out on the big headlines when breaches, data loss and DoS attacks occur.