SY0-701 General Security Concepts Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of general security concepts. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 finance application records each approval with the manager's unique user ID and a digital signature. Auditors want proof that the manager cannot later deny approving the transaction. Which security objective is most directly being addressed?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Nonrepudiation
Nonrepudiation ensures that a party cannot deny having performed a specific action. By recording the manager's unique user ID and a digital signature, the system provides cryptographic proof that the manager approved the transaction, making it impossible for them to later deny it. This directly addresses the audit requirement for undeniable evidence of approval.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability focuses on keeping systems and data accessible when needed, not proving who approved a transaction.
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Nonrepudiation
Why this is correct
Nonrepudiation provides strong proof of who performed an action, making later denial difficult or impossible.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
Confidentiality prevents unauthorized viewing of data, but it does not prove who approved an action.
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Accountability
Why it's wrong here
Accountability helps trace actions back to a user, but nonrepudiation is the stronger proof goal here.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CompTIA often tests the distinction between accountability (logging who did what) and nonrepudiation (cryptographic proof that prevents denial), so candidates may pick 'Accountability' because they see user IDs and logs, missing that the digital signature is the key element for nonrepudiation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Digital signatures use asymmetric cryptography (e.g., RSA or ECDSA) where the manager's private key signs the transaction hash, and the public key verifies it. This binds the signature uniquely to the manager's identity and the transaction data, providing nonrepudiation because only the manager possesses the private key. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for financial audits, where a signed approval in a system like SAP or Oracle E-Business Suite can be verified against a certificate authority to prevent repudiation claims.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SY0-701 question in full detail.
General Security Concepts — This question tests General Security Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Nonrepudiation — Nonrepudiation ensures that a party cannot deny having performed a specific action. By recording the manager's unique user ID and a digital signature, the system provides cryptographic proof that the manager approved the transaction, making it impossible for them to later deny it. This directly addresses the audit requirement for undeniable evidence of approval.
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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