Privilege escalation in technology refers to the act of exploiting system vulnerabilities or human errors to gain elevated access privileges beyond what a user is authorized to do. This can involve moving from a lower-privilege user account to a higher-level administrator account, or gaining access to other users' resources or data at the same privilege level.

Attackers often target low-level accounts because they are easier to hijack and have fewer security controls. Once they gain access, they can perform malicious activities such as stealing sensitive data, installing ransomware, or disrupting systems.