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Currently the only security from locally running executables most Linux distributions provide is protection from modifying system files (since that requires root). That kind of security is worthless to desktop/workstation users, since their personal data is not protected from being accessed and stolen or deleted.

Kernel projects exist, such as RSBAC, SELinux, grsecurity, which provide kernel support for additional, fine-grained security, but there is no desktop environment or package manager support for using them to grant every application the least privileges it needs to run, and a system for elevating privileges. I think such support would be very desirable, but also require a ton of very coordinated work between multiple software projects, and is outside the scope of this idea.

A band-aid solution, that I'm proposing, is introducing support for running applications in a single session as multiple system users. It is, of course, possible with the use of su/sudo/kdesu, but that's hardly convenient.

Such support could come in various forms:

• A "run as" option for application launchers in plasma.
  
• The ability to dedicate a virtual desktop or plasma activity to running applications as a specific system user. This would allow for having isolated desktops with various levels of access to your personal data.
  
• Applications for managing such sub-users, their level of access to personal data
  
• Support for sub-users inheriting settings from the main user account, as well as customizing aspects of the sub-users' desktop environments