Preventing Good People from Doing Bad Things: Implementing Least Privilege

The Hard and Soft Cost of Apathy

“By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy—indifference from whatever cause, not from a lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self satisfaction.”

—William Osler, Founding Professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital

To understand the cost of apathy in relation to breaches and least privilege, we must first understand that how we manage risk impacts human behavior. If we box people in by removing all privileges, they will feel suffocated and likely rebel or withhold. If we give too many privileges, people will either feel scared of screwing ...