What defines the minimum privileges an administrator has in FortiGate?

Administrator profiles define the minimum privileges an administrator has in FortiGate. These profiles determine the level of access that administrators have to different features and settings within the FortiGate device. Each profile can be customized to grant specific permissions according to the role of the administrator or their responsibilities, ensuring that they only have access to the functionalities they need to perform their tasks.

This level of granularity helps in maintaining security, as it restricts access based on the principle of least privilege. For instance, an administrator profile can allow full access for configuration tasks while limiting access to monitoring features or logs. This structured approach assists in reducing the risk of accidental or malicious changes to the system.

In contrast, user groups focus more on categorizing users rather than specifically setting administrative privileges. Access control lists (ACLs) are used to determine the permissions for network traffic and access to resources but do not define administrator roles. Domain rules pertain to how access and policies are applied in different administrative or security domains, which can influence user activities but do not specifically define administrator privileges by themselves.