ISC2 · Free Practice Questions · Last reviewed May 2026
42real exam-style questions organised by domain, each with the correct answer highlighted and a plain-English explanation of why it's right — and why the others are wrong.
A security administrator is implementing an access control model that assigns permissions based on the clearance of the subject and the classification of the object. Which model is being implemented?
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Discretionary Access Control (DAC)
Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
MAC uses clearance and classification labels.
Which access control model enforces the principle of least privilege by granting permissions based on job functions and requires separation of duties?
Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
RBAC is designed to support least privilege and separation of duties.
Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
Discretionary Access Control (DAC)
An organization requires users to authenticate using a password and a one-time code from a mobile app. Which authentication method is being used?
Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP)
TOTP is a common OTP method using time synchronization.
Smart card
Hardware token
Biometrics
A company is implementing a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution that uses XML-based assertions to exchange authentication and authorization data between an identity provider and a service provider. Which protocol is being used?
Kerberos
SAML
SAML uses XML assertions for federated identity.
OAuth 2.0
OpenID Connect
An organization wants to ensure that privileged accounts are used only when needed and that all activities are recorded. Which Privileged Access Management (PAM) control should be implemented?
Password vaulting
Role-based access control
Multi-factor authentication
Just-in-Time (JIT) provisioning with session recording
JIT provides temporary access and session recording logs activities.
A security analyst is evaluating a biometric system. The system currently has a high number of false rejections. Which metric is most directly related to this issue?
False Acceptance Rate (FAR)
Equal Error Rate (EER)
Crossover Error Rate (CER)
False Rejection Rate (FRR)
FRR directly measures false rejections.
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In a qualitative risk analysis, a risk is assigned a probability of 'High' and an impact of 'Medium'. According to common probability/impact matrices, what is the overall risk rating?
High
High probability combined with medium impact yields High risk in most matrices.
Critical
Medium
Low
A vulnerability management program requires that critical vulnerabilities be remediated within 72 hours. A scanner identifies a critical vulnerability on a server, but after patching, the scanner still reports it as vulnerable. What is the most likely cause?
The patch was not applied correctly
The vulnerability is a false positive
A false positive means the scanner incorrectly reports vulnerability.
The remediation SLA was not met
The server was not rebooted after patching
Which of the following is a vulnerability source explicitly based on publicly known flaws?
Configuration weaknesses
Hardware failure
CVEs
CVE is a dictionary of publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.
Design flaws
An organization decides to implement CIS Benchmarks on all Windows servers. They choose Level 1 settings. What does Level 1 represent?
Maximum security with high operational impact
Equivalent to DISA STIGs
Only applicable to critical systems
Basic security hygiene with minimal impact
Level 1 is intended to be broadly applicable with low disruption.
A security analyst is reviewing SIEM alerts and wants to identify potential data exfiltration. Which TWO of the following indicators are most relevant?
Successful logins during business hours
Large outbound data transfers to an external IP
Directly indicates potential data exfiltration.
A user connecting to a known command-and-control server
C2 communication often precedes or accompanies exfiltration.
Multiple failed login attempts
Elevated CPU usage on a database server
A security manager is evaluating log sources for a SIEM implementation. Which THREE of the following are considered log types that should be included?
Security logs
Log security events like logins.
System logs
Log OS events.
Network logs
Physical access logs
Application logs
Log application-specific events.
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During which phase of the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle are incident response plan updates and lessons learned typically documented?
Preparation
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Detection and Analysis
Post-Incident Activity
Correct. This phase is dedicated to learning from the incident and improving future response.
An organization's security team detects a potential data breach. After confirming the incident, they classify it as P2 (high severity) and begin containment. Which action should be performed FIRST to preserve evidence for forensic analysis?
Disconnect the system from the network
Capture a memory dump using a tool like Magnet RAM Capture
Correct. Memory contains volatile evidence that is lost when power is removed.
Create a forensic image of the hard drive
Run an antivirus scan to remove malware
A security analyst receives a chain of custody form for a hard drive that was seized from a suspected insider threat. The form shows that the drive was handled by three individuals over two days. Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason for maintaining a chain of custody?
To prove that the evidence has not been tampered with and is admissible in legal proceedings
Correct. Chain of custody provides a documented history to show evidence integrity.
To determine the cost of the forensic investigation
To ensure the hard drive is stored in a secure location
To track the productivity of forensic analysts
During incident response, a team needs to isolate an infected workstation that is part of a critical manufacturing network. Which containment method is MOST appropriate to minimize disruption while preventing the spread of malware?
Place the workstation into a quarantine VLAN via switch configuration
Correct. VLAN quarantine isolates the device while allowing limited access for forensics.
Apply a host-based firewall rule to block all inbound traffic
Physically unplug the network cable
Disable the user's Active Directory account
After a ransomware incident, an organization decides to restore data from backups. The RPO (Recovery Point Objective) is 4 hours. What does this RPO indicate?
Backups must be taken at least every 4 hours to ensure data loss does not exceed 4 hours
Correct. RPO drives backup frequency to limit data loss.
The organization can tolerate 4 hours of downtime
The system must be restored within 4 hours of the incident
The recovery process will take a maximum of 4 hours
Which DR testing type involves running recovery systems in parallel with production systems to verify functionality without impacting live operations?
Full interruption test
Simulation test
Parallel test
Correct. Parallel testing runs DR systems concurrently with production.
Tabletop exercise
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A company wants to ensure that employees understand the proper use of corporate email and internet. Which policy should they implement?
Data Handling Policy
Remote Access Policy
Acceptable Use Policy
Defines acceptable use of IT resources.
Password Policy
During a security audit, it is found that several employees have written their passwords on sticky notes attached to their monitors. Which policy is being violated?
Social Media Policy
Clean Desk Policy
Requires clearing desks of sensitive items.
Data Handling Policy
Password Policy
A security awareness training program is being developed. Which topic is most important to include to reduce the risk of credential theft?
Proper use of social media
Physical security procedures
Recognizing phishing attempts
Phishing is a common vector for credential theft.
Data backup procedures
A security metric shows that patch compliance is at 85%. The goal is 95%. Which action should be taken first?
Increase the frequency of vulnerability scans
Disable automatic updates to prevent issues
Prioritize patching based on vulnerability criticality
Focuses resources on most critical patches first.
Exclude non-critical systems from patching
A change request to update a critical database server has been approved by the Change Advisory Board (CAB). During testing, a major compatibility issue is discovered. What is the best course of action?
Report the issue to the CAB and request a revised change
Proper change management requires CAB approval for revised changes.
Reject the change request and close it permanently
Implement the change but have a rollback plan ready
Proceed with the change and resolve the issue after implementation
A security administrator needs to ensure that all servers are configured with a hardened baseline. Which tool is best suited to detect deviations from the baseline configuration?
Vulnerability scanner
Asset management database
SCAP scanner
Designed to check compliance with security baselines.
SIEM
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Practice this domainA security analyst is recommending a symmetric encryption algorithm for a new application that requires both confidentiality and authentication. Which algorithm and mode combination should they select?
3DES-CBC
AES-ECB
RC4
AES-GCM
GCM mode combines encryption and authentication, making it ideal for this requirement.
An organization is implementing a digital signature solution to ensure non-repudiation of documents. Which combination of keys is used during the signing process?
Recipient's public key to sign, recipient's private key to verify
Sender's private key to sign, sender's public key to verify
The private key creates the signature, and the corresponding public key verifies it.
Sender's public key to sign, recipient's private key to verify
A shared symmetric key for both signing and verification
A company is deploying a VPN using IPsec. They want to ensure that even if the private key of the server is compromised, past session keys cannot be derived. Which key exchange method should they use?
Pre-shared key (PSK)
RSA key exchange
Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman (DHE or ECDHE)
Ephemeral key exchange ensures that session keys are temporary and not linked to long-term keys.
Diffie-Hellman with static keys
A security administrator is configuring a web server to use TLS. They want to optimize performance while maintaining strong security. Which cipher suite should they prioritize?
TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
This suite offers forward secrecy, strong authentication with ECDSA, and efficient authenticated encryption.
Which of the following hash algorithms is considered cryptographically broken and should be avoided due to collision attacks?
SHA-3
SHA-256
MD5
MD5 is broken and collisions can be generated easily.
HMAC-SHA256
An organization uses a PKI with a root CA that issues certificates to intermediate CAs, which then issue end-entity certificates. A client receives an end-entity certificate signed by an intermediate CA. During validation, which certificates are required to build the chain of trust?
Only the root CA certificate
End-entity certificate, intermediate CA certificate, and root CA certificate
All three are required to validate the chain from end-entity to the trusted root.
Only the end-entity certificate and the root CA certificate
Only the end-entity certificate and the intermediate CA certificate
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Which protocol and port combination is commonly used for secure remote administration of a server?
HTTPS on TCP 443
Telnet on TCP 23
RDP on TCP 3389
SSH on TCP 22
SSH is the standard secure remote administration protocol.
A security analyst notices an unusual number of ARP replies on the network where one MAC address is claiming to be multiple IP addresses. Which type of attack is most likely occurring?
ARP spoofing
Attacker sends gratuitous ARP replies to poison the ARP cache.
SYN flood
DNS poisoning
DHCP starvation
A company wants to deploy a firewall that can track the state of active connections and make decisions based on the context of traffic flows. Which firewall type should they choose?
Stateless packet filter
Stateful firewall
Stateful firewalls track connection state for context-aware filtering.
Application proxy firewall
Next-generation firewall
During a wireless penetration test, an attacker captures the four-way handshake of a WPA2-PSK network and attempts to crack the passphrase offline. Which attack is the attacker likely using?
WPS PIN attack
KRACK attack
Evil twin attack
Evil twin is a rogue AP that tricks users into connecting.
PMKID attack
Which protocol is used for secure web browsing and operates on TCP port 443?
HTTPS
HTTPS is HTTP over TLS on port 443.
HTTP
SSH
FTP
An organization wants to ensure that only authorized devices can connect to the corporate wired network. Which technology should they implement to enforce this?
Network Access Control (NAC) with 802.1X
NAC with 802.1X authenticates and authorizes devices on the network.
VLAN segmentation
MAC address filtering
Firewall rules
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During a security assessment, it is discovered that a Linux server has unnecessary services running, including Telnet and FTP. The server is also missing critical security patches. Which of the following is the MOST effective approach to harden this server according to industry best practices?
Move the server to a more secure network segment and implement network access controls.
Enable SELinux and configure a host-based firewall using iptables.
Install a host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) to monitor for attacks.
Disable Telnet and FTP services, and apply all critical security patches.
Disabling unnecessary services and patching are fundamental hardening steps.
An organization wants to prevent unauthorized applications from running on Windows workstations. Which Windows feature should be used to enforce application whitelisting?
User Account Control (UAC)
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC)
WDAC allows only approved applications to run, providing application whitelisting.
Windows Defender Antivirus
A security analyst is reviewing security events on a Linux server and needs to ensure that all authentication attempts, including both successful and failed logins, are logged. Which configuration should be used?
Use PAM to log authentication events to /var/log/secure
Enable and configure auditd with rules to capture login events
auditd is the Linux audit daemon; rules can be added to log all login attempts.
Set up SELinux to audit login attempts
Configure syslog to monitor /var/log/auth.log
A cloud security team is deploying a new web application on an IaaS platform. According to the shared responsibility model, which of the following security tasks is the customer responsible for?
Network infrastructure security such as DDoS protection at the provider edge
Hypervisor security and vulnerability management
Patching the guest operating system and web server software
The customer manages the OS and applications in IaaS, including patching.
Physical security of the data center hosting the servers
A company uses multiple virtual machines on a single hypervisor. To prevent a VM from escaping its virtualized environment and compromising the hypervisor, which of the following should be implemented?
Use a separate network for VM management traffic
Apply hypervisor security patches and disable unnecessary VM guest tools
Patching hypervisor and minimizing guest tools reduce the risk of VM escape.
Deploy a host-based firewall on each VM
Enable VM snapshots to restore in case of compromise
In Linux, which command is used to change file permissions to restrict access so that only the owner can read and write, and the group and others have no access?
chmod 600 file.txt
chmod 600 sets owner rw, group and others nothing.
chown 600 file.txt
umask 077 file.txt
setfacl -m u::rw file.txt
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Practice this domainThe SSCP exam has 125 questions and must be completed in 180 minutes. The passing score is 700/1000.
Multiple-choice questions on access controls, security operations, risk, cryptography, network security, and incident response.
The exam covers 7 domains: Access Controls, Risk Identification, Monitoring, and Analysis, Incident Response and Recovery, Security Operations and Administration, Cryptography, Network and Communications Security, Systems and Application Security. Questions are weighted by domain — higher-weight domains appear more on your actual exam.
No. These are original exam-style practice questions written against the official ISC2 SSCP exam objectives. They are not copied from the real exam. Courseiva focuses on genuine understanding, not memorisation of braindumps.
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