Which type of group is capable of being granted rights and permissions in Windows?

In a Windows environment, security groups are specifically designed to manage rights and permissions. They play a critical role in the security and access control within a system, as they can be assigned permissions to resources such as files, folders, and applications. When a user is added to a security group, they inherit the rights and permissions assigned to that group, simplifying the management of access controls for various resources.

On the other hand, distribution groups are primarily used for email distribution lists and do not have any security or permissions capabilities associated with them. Mail-enabled groups, while similar, serve the same purpose of email distribution and do not provide access control functionalities. Resource groups, while relevant in some contexts, do not exist as a formal group type within Windows for rights and permissions management. Therefore, the function of security groups stands out as the correct answer because they play a vital role in granting users access to various resources in a Windows operating system.