What is privilege escalation?

Privilege escalation refers to the process by which an individual or a program gains elevated access to resources that are normally protected from normal users. Essentially, this means obtaining higher access levels to systems, processes, or data without the necessary authorization.

This concept is critical in cybersecurity because it often leads to unauthorized access to sensitive information and systems, making it a common target for attackers. When an attacker successfully executes privilege escalation, they can manipulate records, conduct malicious activities, or compromise the entire system's integrity.

In contrast, reducing access privileges refers to limiting what a user or program can do, which is opposite to privilege escalation. Changing software permissions is a separate administrative action usually performed by users with the appropriate authority to manage access levels, rather than an act of unauthorized gain. Checking for system vulnerabilities is a proactive security measure aimed at discovering weaknesses in a system rather than exploiting them. Therefore, the correct choice emphasizes the unauthorized acquisition of higher access rights, which is fundamental to understanding threat vectors in cybersecurity.