SDSI Application Security Design Practice Question
An organization is deploying an API that returns user financial records. Which security design pattern should be used to ensure that a user can only access their own records?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement BOLA (Broken Object Level Authorization) checks in the application logic
This requires object-level authorization checks, where the system validates that the authenticated user owns the requested record ID.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
WAF signature-based blocking
Why it's wrong here
WAF signatures cannot validate application-specific object ownership.
- ✗
Implementing an API Key for all users
Why it's wrong here
API keys identify the client, not the data access rights.
- ✓
Implement BOLA (Broken Object Level Authorization) checks in the application logic
Why this is correct
BOLA prevention is explicitly about validating that the user is authorized to access the specific object ID.
- ✗
Rate limiting
Why it's wrong here
Rate limiting does not check data ownership.
About these practice questions
One of 298 original SDSI practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This SDSI 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 SDSI exam.