easyMultiple Choice
ISC2 CC Practice Question: A company implements a policy that requires two…
A company implements a policy that requires two employees to approve any financial transaction over $10,000. Which security principle is being applied?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing separation of duties with least privilege — both restrict what a user can do, but SoD specifically requires multiple people to complete a task, while least privilege limits a single user's permissions.
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
✓
Separation of duties
Separation of duties (SoD) requires that a sensitive task be divided among multiple people so that no single individual can complete it alone. Requiring two employees to approve any financial transaction over $10,000 is a classic SoD control that prevents fraud and errors by ensuring one person cannot unilaterally authorize a payment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Need to know
Why it's wrong here
Need to know limits access to information required for a task, not transaction authorisation. It is tempting because both govern who may access resources, but dual approval is separation of duties, which splits a critical function across two people so neither can complete it alone.
- ✗
Defense in depth
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth layers multiple independent controls so one failure does not expose the system; it does not mandate two approvers for a transaction. It is tempting because dual approval adds a control, but the principle applied is separation of duties, dividing authority between two people.
- ✗
Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege grants users only the minimum access rights needed for their role; it does not require two people to authorise one transaction. It is tempting because both reduce insider risk, but the two-person approval rule implements separation of duties instead.
- ✓
Separation of duties
Why this is correct
Separation of duties splits a sensitive task across multiple people so no single individual controls the whole transaction. Requiring two approvals for transfers over $10,000 enforces this by preventing unilateral action and reducing fraud risk.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Fundamentals
Key term
Policy
A policy is a set of rules or guidelines that defines how an organization manages, secures, and operates its IT systems and services.
Key term
Separation of duties
Separation of duties is a security principle that splits critical tasks and privileges among multiple people to prevent fraud, errors, and abuse of power.
About these practice questions
One of 989 original CC practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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 ISC2 exam blueprint
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.