Maintaining the university’s websites is a responsibility-filled task: You are shaping the digital face of your department and the entire University of Kassel. When assigning TYPO3 access, the question arises as to what permission level you actually need for your day-to-day work. As a general rule in IT security, the principle of least privilege applies: “As much as necessary, as little as possible.” Fewer access rights do not in any way imply less trust, but rather effective protection—for the entire system as well as for you personally.
1. Standard Editor: The Secure Framework for Everyday Work
With the standard editorial level, you can effortlessly handle nearly all routine tasks:
- Create, edit, and update content (text, images, files) on existing pages.
- Post news or event announcements.
Your advantage: You work within a secure environment. Should you ever make a mistake, the impact is limited to the local level. Errors can be corrected quickly and easily without accidentally damaging navigation structures or deleting critical content.
2. Advanced Editing: More Freedom Means More Responsibility
The advanced editing level unlocks more in-depth editing capabilities (e.g., creating, moving, or deleting entire page structures, advanced file management, or configuring special modules).
What you should consider before applying:
- Greater impact of errors: A careless click or deleting the wrong structure can break links throughout the entire website or make subpages inaccessible.
- Increased security and data protection risks: Advanced permissions provide more opportunities for attacks. Misconfigurations can unintentionally create security vulnerabilities or cause data protection issues (e.g., regarding copyrights or the integration of external content).
- Responsibility and accountability: All actions taken within the system are logged with specific user identification. Anyone with extended permissions bears direct editorial and legal responsibility for the changes made and their consequences in the event of an incident.
Self-Assessment: What Permissions Do You Really Need?
Ask yourself the following questions before making your selection:
- Do I primarily maintain texts, images, and documents—or do I regularly create and structure entirely new page sections?
- Would it perhaps be sufficient if only one person within the workgroup had extended permissions and everyone else worked safely with standard permissions?
- Am I prepared to assume the additional duty of care and accountability that come with extended system permissions?
Our recommendation: Start on the safe side
If in doubt, always start with the standard editing level. It fully covers day-to-day editing tasks and protects you from unintended errors. If, as you work, it becomes clear that you need advanced permissions for certain tasks, the level can be adjusted at any time to meet your needs.
