The answer is excessive permissions, as the IAM policy grants `s3:*` actions on all S3 resources, violating the principle of least privilege. This risk arises because the policy’s wildcard `"Resource": "*"` allows any user or service assuming the role to perform any S3 operation, including deleting buckets or accessing all objects, far beyond what is necessary for an intended function. On the CRISC exam, this scenario tests your ability to identify control weaknesses in identity and access management, often appearing in questions about risk identification and response selection. A common trap is confusing excessive permissions with privilege escalation—remember, excessive permissions are about granting too broad access upfront, not about gaining unauthorized access later. Memory tip: “Star-star means too far”—when you see `*:*` or `*` on resources, think excessive permissions.
CRISC IT Risk Identification Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of it risk identification. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Excessive permissions
The IAM policy grants `s3:*` actions on all S3 resources (`"Resource": "*"`), which allows any user or service assuming this role to perform any S3 operation, including deleting buckets, modifying permissions, or accessing all objects. This violates the principle of least privilege and introduces the risk of excessive permissions, as the policy does not restrict actions or resources to only what is necessary for the intended function.
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.
✗
Misconfigured encryption
Why it's wrong here
The policy does not cover encryption settings; it only defines permissions.
✗
Lack of logging
Why it's wrong here
Logging configuration is not part of this policy definition.
✓
Excessive permissions
Why this is correct
The policy grants full access to all resources, creating a risk of privilege abuse.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Weak authentication
Why it's wrong here
Authentication mechanisms are not specified in this policy.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may focus on the absence of encryption or logging keywords in the policy, but the core risk is the overly broad action and resource scope, which is a classic excessive permissions vulnerability.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `Effect: Allow` combined with `Action: s3:*` and `Resource: "*"` creates a wildcard permission that overrides any resource-level restrictions in other policies, effectively granting full administrative control over the S3 service. In AWS IAM, explicit `Allow` with a wildcard resource takes precedence over any implicit or explicit `Deny` only if a matching `Deny` is not present, making this policy extremely permissive. A real-world scenario is a developer role that only needs `s3:GetObject` and `s3:PutObject` on a specific bucket, but instead receives this policy, enabling accidental or malicious deletion of production data.
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 junior network technician can log in to a core router but cannot reach the enable prompt or configuration mode. The AAA server is authenticating the login — but the authorisation policy only grants privilege level 1, not 15. Authentication (who you are) is working; authorisation (what you can do) is not.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
IT Risk Identification — This question tests IT Risk Identification — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Excessive permissions — The IAM policy grants `s3:*` actions on all S3 resources (`"Resource": "*"`), which allows any user or service assuming this role to perform any S3 operation, including deleting buckets, modifying permissions, or accessing all objects. This violates the principle of least privilege and introduces the risk of excessive permissions, as the policy does not restrict actions or resources to only what is necessary for the intended function.
What should I do if I get this CRISC 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Refer to the exhibit. What is the PRIMARY risk identified from this policy?
hard
✓ A.Unrestricted public read access to confidential data
B.Inadequate logging
C.Lack of encryption for data at rest
D.Missing versioning
Why A: The policy statement 'All S3 buckets must be private by default' directly addresses the risk of public read access to confidential data. If a bucket is misconfigured as public, anyone on the internet can read its objects without authentication, leading to a data breach. This is the primary risk because the policy explicitly targets preventing unauthorized public exposure.
Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
Question Discussion
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This CRISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CRISC exam.
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