How much access does this assistant actually need?
Least privilege
Give a person or program only the permissions needed for the task. Reduce the damage that a mistake or compromise can cause.
An everyday example
An assistant drafting a reply can read the relevant message and create a draft. It does not need authority to send mail or delete the inbox.
Original illustration, not an observed participant case.
Where the idea stops
A prompt saying “be careful” does not remove a tool permission. Enforce the boundary in the system that grants access.
Something to try
Split a workflow into read, draft, approve and execute. Name which step needs a person’s decision.
Practise on a fictional case →Go deeper: the builder’s view
For builders: use narrowly scoped credentials, explicit destinations, revocation and independently enforced write gates. Test denied operations too.
Source and interpretation
This is a plain-language interpretation with an applied example; it is not a quotation or an endorsement from the source.
Saltzer & Schroeder — The Protection of Information in Computer Systems (1975) ↗Catalog v0.1 · checked 2026-10-29