SY0-701 Security Operations Practice Question
Exhibit
Facility Access Log Location: Records Room Door 3 08:11 Badge ID 1441 Granted 08:11 Door Opened 08:12 Door Held Open Alarm Cleared 08:12 Badge ID 1441 Granted 08:12 Door Opened Camera Note: 'Unknown person followed employee through the door.'
Based on the exhibit, which control would best reduce unauthorized follow-on entry into the records room?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse logical access controls (firewall rules, screen lock timeouts) or power-related controls (UPS) with physical access controls, failing to recognize that the question specifically targets unauthorized follow-on entry through a physical door.
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
✓
Install a mantrap so only one person can pass through at a time.
A mantrap is a physical security control consisting of a small space with two interlocking doors, designed to allow only one person to pass at a time. This prevents tailgating and piggybacking, which are common methods of unauthorized follow-on entry into a restricted area like a records room.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Install a mantrap so only one person can pass through at a time.
Why this is correct
A mantrap is designed to prevent tailgating and piggybacking by controlling one person through an entry point at a time. The exhibit shows someone followed an authorized employee into a sensitive room after the badge granted access. A mantrap directly addresses that weakness and is a common physical-security control for restricted areas.
- ✗
Add more network firewall rules around the records room door.
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules operate at the network and transport layers, inspecting IP addresses, ports, and protocols to control traffic between segmented networks. A doorway to a records room is a physical perimeter, and firewall filtering cannot interpret or actuate a physical access event such as a person following an authorized employee. Even a next-generation firewall with user-ID features only affects logical session decisions; it has no interface to a door strike, turnstile, or mantrap. Thus, adding firewall rules is a network security control misapplied to a tailgating vulnerability.
- ✗
Increase the screen lock timeout on nearby workstations.
Why it's wrong here
Screen lock timeout determines how long an idle workstation remains usable before requiring the user to reauthenticate. Increasing this value extends the window during which an unattended machine can be accessed, making it a counterproductive action for endpoint security. More importantly, the exhibit shows an intruder slipping into a physically restricted room through an open door after a badge swipe—no workstation has been touched. The screen lock cannot detect the presence of an extra person in the doorway, so it has no bearing on preventing tailgating.
- ✗
Replace the UPS batteries to stop unauthorized people from entering.
Why it's wrong here
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) provides emergency backup power to critical systems, preserving availability and graceful shutdown capabilities. Replacing its batteries restores runtime but does nothing to change who is allowed through the records room door; authentication and door-lock mechanisms are separate from power backup. The vulnerability described is tailgating, a human-factor physical access weakness, which a UPS was never designed to mitigate. Even a fully charged UPS would not stop an unauthorized person from following an authorized employee into the room.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Wireless Security Protocols
Key term
Piggybacking
Piggybacking is the act of an unauthorized person following an authorized person into a restricted area or system by taking advantage of their access.
Key term
Tailgating
Tailgating is a physical security breach where an unauthorized person follows an authorized person into a restricted area without proper authentication.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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