The answer is Separation of Duties, the access control principle that requires dual approval for large transactions to prevent any single person from having unchecked authority. This principle mandates that critical tasks, like initiating and approving a high-value payment, be split across multiple roles so that one manager cannot both create and authorize a transaction over $10,000, directly reducing the risk of fraud or error. On the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CC exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Separation of Duties enforces checks and balances in financial systems, often appearing in questions about preventing insider threats or collusion. A common trap is confusing it with least privilege, but remember: least privilege limits access rights, while Separation of Duties divides responsibilities. A helpful memory tip is to think “two keys to open the vault”—no single person holds both.
ISC2 CC Access Controls Concepts Practice Question
This CC practice question tests your understanding of access controls 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 financial company requires that any transaction over $10,000 must be approved by two different managers before being processed. This is an example of which access control principle?
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
The requirement for two different managers to approve a transaction over $10,000 enforces Separation of Duties (SoD). This access control principle ensures that no single individual has the authority to execute a high-risk action alone, thereby preventing fraud or error by splitting critical tasks across multiple roles. In this scenario, one manager cannot both initiate and approve the transaction, which directly aligns with SoD's goal of distributing responsibility.
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.
✗
Least Privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least Privilege limits permissions to the minimum needed, but does not involve multiple approvals.
✗
Need-to-Know
Why it's wrong here
Need-to-Know restricts information access based on job requirements, not task segregation.
✗
Dual Control
Why it's wrong here
Dual Control is a specific implementation of SoD but SoD is the overarching principle.
✓
Separation of Duties
Why this is correct
SoD ensures that no single individual has complete control over a sensitive process by requiring multiple approvals.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the distinction between Dual Control and Separation of Duties, where Dual Control implies simultaneous action (e.g., two keys turned together) while Separation of Duties implies sequential or divided responsibilities, causing candidates to mistakenly choose Dual Control when the question describes sequential approval.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Separation of Duties is often implemented in financial systems through workflow rules that prevent the same user from holding conflicting roles, such as 'transaction initiator' and 'transaction approver'. In database access control, this is enforced via role-based access control (RBAC) with mutually exclusive roles, ensuring that a user assigned to the 'approver' role cannot also be assigned to the 'requester' role for the same transaction type. Real-world scenarios include payment gateways like SAP or Oracle Financials, where SoD rules are configured to require two distinct manager IDs for transactions exceeding a threshold.
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 CC question in full detail.
Access Controls Concepts — This question tests Access Controls Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Separation of Duties — The requirement for two different managers to approve a transaction over $10,000 enforces Separation of Duties (SoD). This access control principle ensures that no single individual has the authority to execute a high-risk action alone, thereby preventing fraud or error by splitting critical tasks across multiple roles. In this scenario, one manager cannot both initiate and approve the transaction, which directly aligns with SoD's goal of distributing responsibility.
What should I do if I get this CC 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 →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.