Least-privilege access (principle of least privilege)
AI
Least-privilege access means giving a person, app or AI agent only the access its job needs, so a mistake or misuse can reach as little as possible.
For example, a store runs one agent for customer support with order lookup, returns and subscription changes, and a separate reporting agent with read-only access to sales data. Neither can do the other's job.
Least privilege limits the damage from any error, misuse or prompt injection to the small set of things an agent was allowed to do.
So no single agent can reach everything. If one makes a mistake or is manipulated, the harm stays within its narrow job.
Rarely. AI agents with a focused job and fewer tools usually work faster and make fewer wrong choices.
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