This 200-201 practice question tests your understanding of security policies and procedures. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company's security policy includes a clause that all software installed on company devices must be approved by the IT department. An employee installs an unapproved application that later causes a malware infection. Which policy was violated?
Incident Response Policy
Why wrong: Incident response policy outlines steps after an incident.
Acceptable Use Policy
Software installation rules are part of acceptable use.
Data Retention Policy
Why wrong: Data retention policy deals with log storage.
Remote Access Policy
Why wrong: Remote access policy governs external connections.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Acceptable Use Policy
The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) defines what activities and software are permitted on company devices. By installing an unapproved application without IT authorization, the employee violated the AUP, which directly led to the malware infection. This policy is the primary control for preventing unauthorized software installations that bypass security baselines.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Incident Response Policy
Why it's wrong here
Incident response policy outlines steps after an incident.
Acceptable Use Policy
Why this is correct
Software installation rules are part of acceptable use.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Data Retention Policy
Why it's wrong here
Data retention policy deals with log storage.
Remote Access Policy
Why it's wrong here
Remote access policy governs external connections.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the distinction between a proactive policy (AUP) that prevents unauthorized actions and a reactive policy (Incident Response) that handles the aftermath, causing candidates to confuse the policy that was violated with the policy that describes the response to the violation.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, an AUP often integrates with endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools via application whitelisting (e.g., Windows AppLocker or WDAC) to enforce software approval. In a real-world scenario, an employee installing an unapproved screen-sharing tool could bypass firewall rules and create a covert channel for data exfiltration, which the AUP is designed to prevent by restricting software to a pre-approved catalog.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security Policies and Procedures — This question tests Security Policies and Procedures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Acceptable Use Policy — The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) defines what activities and software are permitted on company devices. By installing an unapproved application without IT authorization, the employee violated the AUP, which directly led to the malware infection. This policy is the primary control for preventing unauthorized software installations that bypass security baselines.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.
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