Welcome to the first edition of Purpose in Practice — a place where I unpack some of the questions and ideas that have been rolling around in my head this week. My goal here is simple: to take concepts we talk about in theory and explore how they actually play out in the real world.
This week, a specific topic kept coming up in conversations — the Principle of Least Privilege.It’s a mouthful, but it raises a simple, important question worth asking:
Do you know exactly who in your organization has access to your critical systems and data?
And maybe a tougher one:
Do they actually need that access to do their job?
Most leaders assume this is something IT sorted out long ago — but reality says otherwise. Studies show that roughly half of employees have more access than they should, and that creates what we call insider risk. It’s not always about bad actors. Most of the time, the risk comes from good people making honest mistakes — clicking a bad link, sending sensitive files to the wrong person, or keeping access to systems they no longer use.
The Problem of Privilege Creep
Over time, people’s roles change, projects evolve, and permissions pile up. That gradual accumulation of unnecessary access is known as “privilege creep.”
It’s not intentional, but it’s a dangerous situation. When users have more rights than necessary, a single compromised account can cause far more damage — from deleting vital data to exposing customer information. Even scarier, almost half of businesses admit that former employees still have access to company systems months after leaving. That’s like letting someone keep a master key to your office after they’ve turned in their badge.
The Principle of Least Privilege (POLP)
The fix isn’t complicated, but it does require discipline. The Principle of Least Privilege (or POLP) is the cybersecurity version of “need to know.” It simply means that people — and systems — should have the minimum level of access necessary to perform their tasks, and nothing more.
According to Cloudflare and Wikipedia, this approach minimizes the “blast radius” if something goes wrong. A compromised account can’t access what it was never meant to see, and an employee who changes roles can’t accidentally wander into data that’s outside their lane.
Many businesses are also adopting “just-in-time” access, granting permissions only for the duration of a specific task. It’s like handing someone the keys to a supply closet for a few minutes — not giving them a permanent copy.
Making It Work in the Real World
Modern IT environments — with cloud apps, AI tools, and remote workers — make access sprawl easy and invisible. So, what can you do?
Start by reviewing user permissions regularly. Audit who can see what. Remove dormant accounts immediately when someone leaves. Automate where possible; many security platforms now include tools to flag excessive permissions or orphaned accounts.
And don’t underestimate the value of culture. When your team understands why access controls matter — that it’s about protecting customers and the company, not about mistrust — they’re more likely to embrace them.
The Bottom Line
This isn’t about slowing people down; it’s about keeping your business safe, efficient, and compliant. Every unnecessary permission is a door left unlocked.
So, ask yourself: Does my staff have too much access? If you’re not sure, now’s the perfect time to find out. Because in cybersecurity, knowing beats guessing every single time.