CAS-004 Security Architecture Practice Question
A security architect is reviewing the authentication design for a new customer portal that will be accessed by partners from multiple external organizations. The business wants partners to use their existing corporate identities, avoid creating new passwords for the portal, and allow the home organization to remain the authoritative source for disabling accounts. Which of the following should the architect recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is focusing on password strength for new accounts when the requirement is to avoid creating portal-managed credentials altogether.
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
✓
Federated identity using SAML or OpenID Connect with the partner identity providers
Federated identity lets the portal rely on each partner organization's identity provider for authentication and account lifecycle. Partners use existing credentials, and disabling an account at the home organization immediately prevents new sessions because the portal consumes assertions rather than storing passwords. This is the standard pattern for business-to-business access with external identity sources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A shared partner account with per-user activity logging
Why it's wrong here
A shared account destroys individual accountability because actions cannot be attributed to a specific person, and disabling one partner's access requires changing the shared credential for everyone. It also forces partners to use a new password, violating the single sign-on goal. Shared credentials are broadly considered an anti-pattern for external access.
- ✗
Local account provisioning with mandatory password complexity and rotation
Why it's wrong here
Local accounts create a separate credential for each partner and place lifecycle management on the portal operator. When a partner leaves their employer, the home organization cannot disable the portal account, leaving orphaned access until the operator notices. This contradicts the requirement that the home organization remain the authoritative source for account disabling.
- ✗
Certificate-based authentication with manually distributed client certificates
Why it's wrong here
Client certificates can authenticate partners without passwords, but manual distribution and renewal create significant operational burden across many external organizations. Revocation depends on CRL or OCSP infrastructure, and the home organization does not automatically control certificate lifecycle. The scenario calls for leveraging existing corporate identities, which certificates do not provide.
- ✓
Federated identity using SAML or OpenID Connect with the partner identity providers
Why this is correct
Federation trusts the partner's identity provider to authenticate users and assert identity claims to the portal. Partners keep their existing corporate credentials, and when the home organization disables an account, the next authentication attempt fails because the portal never holds the credential. This directly satisfies single sign-on, no new passwords, and home-organization authority over access.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CAS-005 question is part of Courseiva's 973-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. 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 September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CAS-005 exam.