Cloud-Security-Engineer Identity And Access Security Practice Question
You are hardening an Azure environment monitored by Prisma Cloud. An alert fires indicating that an Azure Service Principal possesses the 'Owner' role at the subscription level, but it is only used for read-only monitoring tasks. What is the recommended remediation step using least privilege principles?
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
✓
Remove the Owner role assignment and assign the built-in Reader role or a custom monitoring role.
An identity performing read-only monitoring should never have Owner permissions. It should be downgraded to the Reader role or a custom role with strictly read-only permissions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Remove the Owner role assignment and assign the built-in Reader role or a custom monitoring role.
Why this is correct
Reducing privileges from Owner to Reader eliminates write and administrative capabilities, fulfilling least privilege.
- ✗
Configure an Azure Conditional Access Policy to block external IP addresses.
Why it's wrong here
Conditional Access policies apply to user authentication sessions, not directly to reducing overly broad RBAC role assignments.
- ✗
Rotate the Service Principal client secret every 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
Secret rotation is a good credential hygiene practice, but it does not address the core issue of excessive permissions (Owner vs. Reader).
- ✗
Enable Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on the Service Principal.
Why it's wrong here
Service Principals (non-human accounts) do not support interactive MFA in the same manner as user accounts.
About these practice questions
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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 Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This Cloud-Security-Engineer practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks 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 Cloud-Security-Engineer exam.