system process

An active security principal—specifically, an executing software process on a computing system—that has been granted an identity and access rights so it can perform actions on behalf of a human user without that user being directly present. NIST (SP 800-37 Rev. 2) treats it as one of the two forms a "system user" may take: "an individual or (system) process acting on behalf of an individual that is authorized to access information and information systems to perform assigned duties." In access-control frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53 and SP 800-171, system processes are classified alongside human users as **active entities or subjects** that access control policies must govern, standing in contrast to passive objects such as devices, files, records, and domains. Practically, if a user launches an application or background tool, that application runs as the user and "is acting on behalf of the user," meaning any process running under a user's authority must be confined to the same access permissions as that user and no more.