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Question 261

Which security concept ensures that a system continues operating correctly even when one component fails?

1. Redundancy
2. Obfuscation
3. Tokenization
4. Data masking

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Redundancy involves providing duplicate or alternative components so that a failure does not necessarily interrupt an important service. Examples include redundant servers, network links, power supplies, storage devices, and data centers. Redundancy supports availability and can be implemented at different architectural levels. It should be designed carefully because duplicated components can introduce additional complexity and costs. Organizations should identify critical single points of failure and determine whether redundancy is justified based on business requirements, risk, recovery objectives, and the consequences of service interruption.

Question 262

A security architect separates a critical application from less trusted systems by placing it in an isolated network segment. What security principle is being applied?

1. Data remanence
2. Network isolation
3. Open design
4. Psychological acceptability

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

Network isolation separates systems or services into controlled environments to reduce unnecessary communication and limit the potential spread of attacks. A critical application can be placed in a restricted segment where only required connections are permitted. Isolation can reduce the attack surface and help contain compromised systems. It is commonly implemented through firewalls, VLANs, security groups, access control lists, and other segmentation mechanisms. Effective isolation requires identifying legitimate communication requirements and continuously reviewing rules to ensure unnecessary connectivity is removed.

Question 263

Which principle states that security mechanisms should remain effective even when their design is publicly known?

1. Defense in depth
2. Open design
3. Least privilege
4. Separation of duties

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

The open design principle states that security should not depend on keeping the design or implementation secret. Instead, security should rely on strong, well-designed controls such as properly managed cryptographic keys, authentication mechanisms, and access policies. This principle supports transparency, peer review, and security testing. Cryptographic systems are a common example because their algorithms are generally public while their keys remain protected. Relying on secrecy of system design alone can create fragile security because attackers may eventually discover or reverse-engineer hidden mechanisms.

Question 264

Which security principle requires a system to deny access unless explicit permission has been granted?

1. Fail-safe defaults
2. Open design
3. Least common mechanism
4. Work factor

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Fail-safe defaults require systems to deny access or fail into a secure state unless explicit authorization permits an action. This principle reduces the likelihood that configuration errors will unintentionally provide access to protected resources. For example, a firewall rule set may deny traffic by default and permit only specifically authorized connections. Access control systems can apply the same approach to users, applications, and services. Administrators should carefully document exceptions and test default-deny behavior because overly restrictive controls can also disrupt legitimate business operations.

Question 265

Which principle recommends that security controls should be easy enough for authorized users to operate correctly without unnecessary complexity?

1. Separation of duties
2. Psychological acceptability
3. Complete mediation
4. Defense in depth

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

Psychological acceptability means security mechanisms should be designed so that legitimate users can understand and use them without excessive difficulty. Controls that are confusing, inconvenient, or unnecessarily complicated may encourage users to bypass them or develop unsafe workarounds. Examples include clear authentication procedures, understandable security warnings, and practical access processes. Security must still provide appropriate protection, but usability is important because human behavior directly affects control effectiveness. Organizations should evaluate user experience during security design, implementation, testing, and ongoing improvement.

Question 266

A security engineer designs a system so that the same shared mechanism is not unnecessarily used by unrelated users or processes. Which principle does this support?

1. Least common mechanism
2. Need to know
3. Open design
4. Risk transference

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

The least common mechanism principle recommends minimizing mechanisms shared among users, processes, or applications when those mechanisms are not required to be shared. Excessive sharing can create unintended information flows or provide opportunities for one component to affect another. Separating resources and functions can reduce these risks. Examples include isolated process environments, separate service accounts, and restricted shared resources. The principle complements least privilege and separation of duties by reducing unnecessary dependencies and limiting the potential consequences when one user, process, or component is compromised.

Question 267

Which security concept requires access checks to be performed every time a subject attempts to access a protected resource?

1. Complete mediation
2. Fail-safe defaults
3. Economy of mechanism
4. Separation of duties

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Complete mediation requires every access to a protected resource to be checked for authorization rather than relying on a single earlier decision indefinitely. This helps ensure that changes to permissions, session state, or security conditions are properly enforced. Implementations may use caching or session mechanisms for efficiency, but those mechanisms must not undermine authorization requirements. Without complete mediation, a user whose privileges have been revoked might continue accessing resources through an existing session. Proper implementation therefore supports consistent and current access control enforcement.

Question 268

Which design principle recommends keeping security mechanisms as simple and small as practical to reduce the possibility of errors?

1. Open design
2. Economy of mechanism
3. Defense in depth
4. Need to know

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

Economy of mechanism recommends keeping security designs and mechanisms simple rather than unnecessarily complex. Simpler systems are generally easier to understand, test, audit, maintain, and secure. Complex mechanisms can contain more implementation errors and may be difficult for administrators to configure correctly. This principle does not mean eliminating necessary security controls; instead, it encourages avoiding unnecessary complexity. Security architects should consider whether each component is needed, whether its function can be simplified, and whether the resulting design remains capable of meeting organizational security requirements.

Question 269

Which activity verifies that implemented security controls operate according to documented requirements?

1. Security control assessment
2. Data classification
3. Risk acceptance
4. Asset disposal

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

A security control assessment evaluates whether implemented controls are properly designed, implemented, and operating as intended. Assessments can involve documentation reviews, interviews, technical testing, observation, sampling, and other evidence-gathering techniques. The objective is to determine whether controls satisfy established security requirements and adequately address identified risks. Findings can reveal weaknesses, implementation gaps, or deviations from approved procedures. Organizations can then assign corrective actions and track remediation. Control assessments may be performed periodically or after significant changes to systems, processes, or risk conditions.

Question 270

Which type of control is primarily intended to restore a system or process after a security incident or failure has occurred?

1. Detective
2. Preventive
3. Corrective
4. Deterrent

Correct Answer: 3

Explanation

Corrective controls are designed to restore normal or secure conditions after an undesirable event has occurred. Examples include restoring systems from backups, removing malware, repairing damaged configurations, and applying corrective patches after a vulnerability is discovered. Corrective controls differ from preventive controls, which attempt to stop incidents before they occur, and detective controls, which identify events that have already happened or are occurring. Effective security programs use corrective controls as part of incident response, business continuity, disaster recovery, and ongoing security improvement.

Question 271

Which type of control is intended to identify and alert personnel when a security event occurs?

1. Detective
2. Preventive
3. Directive
4. Compensating

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Detective controls identify or discover undesirable activities, conditions, or security events. Examples include intrusion detection systems, security monitoring, audit logs, file integrity monitoring, and security cameras. Detective controls do not necessarily prevent an event from occurring, but they provide information that enables personnel or automated systems to respond. Effective detective controls should generate useful and timely information while minimizing excessive false positives. Organizations should define monitoring requirements, establish alert-handling procedures, protect logs from unauthorized modification, and periodically review detection effectiveness.

Question 272

Which type of control provides an alternative measure when the preferred security control cannot be implemented as originally required?

1. Corrective
2. Compensating
3. Detective
4. Deterrent

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

A compensating control provides an alternative method of achieving an acceptable level of security when the primary control cannot reasonably be implemented. For example, if a required technical control cannot operate on a legacy system, additional monitoring, network isolation, or procedural restrictions might provide alternative protection. Compensating controls should not simply be informal workarounds; they should be documented, risk-based, approved by appropriate authorities, and periodically reviewed. Their effectiveness should be evaluated to determine whether they adequately address the risk created by the unavailable primary control.

Question 273

Which control type communicates organizational requirements and directs personnel to perform or avoid specific actions?

1. Directive
2. Preventive
3. Detective
4. Corrective

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Directive controls provide instructions, requirements, or expectations that guide personnel behavior. Examples include security policies, standards, procedures, guidelines, awareness instructions, and posted security notices. These controls help communicate what personnel are expected to do and support consistent organizational practices. Directive controls may work alongside technical and physical controls. For example, a policy can require multifactor authentication, while technical systems enforce it. Organizations should ensure directive controls are clearly written, communicated to relevant personnel, approved by appropriate management, and reviewed periodically as business and security requirements change.

Question 274

Which security control is specifically designed to discourage an individual from attempting an unauthorized action?

1. Deterrent
2. Corrective
3. Detective
4. Recovery

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Deterrent controls are intended to discourage individuals from attempting prohibited or malicious activities. They may not physically prevent an action, but they communicate that unauthorized behavior is likely to be noticed or have consequences. Examples include warning banners, visible security cameras, security guards, and clearly stated disciplinary policies. Deterrent controls are often combined with preventive and detective mechanisms for stronger protection. Their effectiveness depends partly on visibility, credibility, organizational enforcement, and the perceived likelihood that violations will be detected and addressed.

Question 275

An organization requires two employees to approve a high-value financial transaction before it can be completed. Which principle is being applied?

1. Defense in depth
2. Separation of duties
3. Need to know
4. Data minimization

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

Separation of duties divides sensitive responsibilities among multiple individuals so that one person does not have complete control over a critical process. Requiring two employees to approve a high-value transaction reduces the risk of fraud, abuse, and unauthorized actions by a single individual. The principle is especially useful for financial processes, privileged administration, software deployment, and other sensitive activities. Organizations should design duties carefully so that responsibilities are meaningfully separated and collusion risks are considered. Logging and independent review can further strengthen this control.

Question 276

Which security measure helps ensure that a former employee cannot continue using an account after leaving an organization?

1. Account deprovisioning
2. Data aggregation
3. Network tunneling
4. Log normalization

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

Account deprovisioning removes or disables access when an employee leaves the organization or no longer requires the associated privileges. It should cover accounts across relevant applications, directories, cloud platforms, VPNs, privileged systems, and other services. Prompt deprovisioning reduces the possibility that former employees or attackers using former credentials can access organizational resources. Effective processes often integrate human resources notifications with identity management workflows. Organizations should also address physical access badges, authentication tokens, certificates, and other credentials associated with the departing employee.

Question 277

Which process ensures that security requirements are considered when a system or application is being designed and developed?

1. Secure development lifecycle
2. Data retention
3. Business impact analysis
4. Disaster recovery testing

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

A secure development lifecycle integrates security activities throughout the design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of applications or systems. Security requirements can be identified early, threats can be analyzed during design, secure coding practices can be applied during development, and testing can identify weaknesses before deployment. Addressing security throughout the lifecycle is generally more effective than attempting to correct all issues after release. A mature lifecycle also includes vulnerability remediation, dependency management, secure configuration, change management, and lessons learned from incidents or testing.

Question 278

Which activity attempts to identify weaknesses by simulating attacks against systems with authorization from the organization?

1. Vulnerability scanning
2. Penetration testing
3. Data classification
4. Configuration management

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

Penetration testing is an authorized security assessment in which testers simulate attacks to determine whether vulnerabilities can actually be exploited and what consequences could result. Unlike basic vulnerability scanning, penetration testing can involve manual techniques, chained weaknesses, privilege escalation, and exploitation within an approved scope. Testing should be carefully authorized and controlled to prevent unnecessary operational disruption. Rules of engagement should define targets, timing, techniques, communication procedures, and stopping conditions. Findings should be documented and used to improve security controls and remediation priorities.

Question 279

Which backup method copies only data that has changed since the most recent full backup?

1. Full backup
2. Differential backup
3. Incremental backup
4. Snapshot deletion

Correct Answer: 2

Explanation

A differential backup copies data that has changed since the most recent full backup. As time passes, each differential backup may become larger because it continues to include changes made after the last full backup. During restoration, the organization generally needs the latest full backup and the most recent differential backup. An incremental backup differs because each incremental backup contains changes since the previous backup of any type. Organizations should select backup methods based on recovery objectives, storage capacity, backup windows, restoration speed, and operational requirements.

Question 280

Which backup method records only the data changed since the previous backup operation?

1. Incremental backup
2. Differential backup
3. Full backup
4. Mirror deletion

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation

An incremental backup stores only data that has changed since the previous backup operation. This generally reduces backup time and storage requirements compared with repeatedly creating full backups. However, restoring from a series of incremental backups can require the latest full backup plus multiple subsequent incremental backups. Organizations should evaluate this restoration complexity against available resources and recovery objectives. Backup strategies should also include appropriate retention, encryption, access controls, integrity verification, offsite or geographically separated copies, and periodic restoration testing to ensure backups can actually support recovery.