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§ I · Domain IAM · Control 3 of 8
Control
IAM-03
Edition
v.1.3
Status
Public review

IAM · Identity, Access & Authorization

IAM-03Least-privilege scoping

OAuth scopes, API permissions, and database privileges granted to agents follow the principle of least privilege, with documented justification for each scope.

Service accounts used by the agent are scoped to the minimum permissions necessary to fulfill the specification. OAuth scopes, API permissions, and database privileges each have documented justification. Over-provisioned permissions are the most common finding in IAM assessments: the control requires active right-sizing, not just a policy statement.

Table IAM-03.1 · Maturity criteria · v.1.3

L1 to L5 · the lowest level in scope caps the agent
L1Ad hoc

Controls exist informally; documentation is incomplete; no consistent review.

L2Documented

Controls are written down; ownership is assigned; review cadence is defined.

L3Operated

Controls are followed in practice; evidence is collected; deviations are tracked.

Permission sets are documented for each agent with justification for each scope; a review of permissions has occurred within the documented cadence; over-provisioned scopes have been identified and remediated.

L4Measured

Control effectiveness is measured against documented thresholds; trends are reported.

L5Continuously Improved

Controls evolve based on incident learning; maturity gains are evidenced over time.

The v1.3 edition publishes a control-specific criterion at L3 (Operated). The other levels apply the general ladder to this control; see the maturity ladder.

Evidence an assessor asks for

  1. E.1

    Permission sets are documented for each agent with justification for each scope.

  2. E.2

    A review of permissions has occurred within the documented cadence.

  3. E.3

    Over-provisioned scopes have been identified and remediated.

Table IAM-03.2 · Framework mappings

5 of 7 frameworks carry a control-level reference
NIST AI RMFMANAGE 4.1NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0
ISO/IEC 42001A.8.3ISO/IEC 42001:2023 · Artificial intelligence management system
OWASP LLM Top 10·OWASP Top 10 for Large Language Model Applications
SOC 2 (TSC)CC6.1, CC7.2AICPA Trust Services Criteria for SOC 2 Type II
EU AI ActArt. 15(2)EU AI Act · Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
MITRE ATLAS·MITRE ATLAS · Adversarial Threat Landscape for AI Systems
SingaporeAI Verify SecuritySingapore Model AI Governance Framework / AI Verify / PDPA

Mappings are directional: meeting this control evidences but does not by itself satisfy the external requirement. A middle dot means no control-level reference is published at this edition; see the crosswalk.

Related controls and terms

Cite this control

Human Intelligence. HI-AAF v1.3, IAM-03 Least-privilege scoping. Public review edition, July 2026. https://humanintel.net/standard/iam/iam-03

Edition v.1.3 · July 2026 · Public review · Markdown · PDF

https://humanintel.net/standard/iam/iam-03

Notice

HI-AAF v1.3 is an independent framework published by Human Intelligence. It is not affiliated with NIST, ISO, AICPA, or any government or accreditation body. The framework is offered openly for review during the current draft cycle.