In the context of hacking, what does "Privilege Escalation" refer to?

Privilege escalation refers to the process in which a hacker gains elevated access to resources that are normally protected from the user’s account. This typically involves exploiting a vulnerability or misconfiguration in the system, which allows the hacker to gain higher-level permissions that enable them to perform restricted operations. This can include accessing sensitive data, executing administrative commands, or altering system settings that are otherwise limited to more trusted or authorized users.

Understanding privilege escalation is crucial for ethical hackers, as they need to identify and mitigate such vulnerabilities in systems, ensuring that users do not have more access than is necessary for their role. This concept is a key area of focus in cybersecurity defense, highlighting the importance of properly configuring user permissions and regularly reviewing access controls to prevent such exploits from happening.

The other options do not accurately represent the concept of privilege escalation. For example, erasing tracks after a hack pertains more to maintaining stealth and is not directly related to gaining privileges. Gaining unauthorized access is a broader term that precedes privilege escalation, as it signifies the initial breach. Retaining control over a compromised system might occur post-privilege escalation but does not specify the process of elevating user rights itself.