Zero Standing Privilege (ZSP) turns that lurking risk into nothing. Git checkout is about moving between branches. ZSP is about making sure no one — human or machine — keeps unnecessary access when they’re not using it. Together, they answer one of the most overlooked problems in software workflows: engineers holding open-ended permissions that go far beyond the moment they need them.
Git workflows rarely line up with security boundaries. You checkout a branch to fix a bug. You deploy. You merge. But while the code changes, your access often doesn’t. Standing privilege sits quietly until it becomes an attack surface. The fix isn’t revoking every permission every time by hand. The fix is access that appears just-in-time and disappears on its own.
Zero Standing Privilege takes the principle of least privilege and drives it to its logical conclusion. Instead of static permissions mapped to user roles, it delivers short-lived credentials tied to specific actions. There is no leftover access to abuse. No forgotten admin keys sitting on a laptop. No SSH into production that lingers because no one remembered to pull it back.