ISC2 CC Access Controls Concepts Practice Question
A financial services firm is deploying a new customer portal. Auditors have required that access decisions consider the user's department, the data classification of the record, the time of day, and whether the request originates from a managed corporate device. The security architect proposes Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC). Which two statements correctly describe how ABAC satisfies these requirements? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse ABAC with role-based or label-based models, since role membership and clearance labels can be attributes, but neither alone can express the time and device conditions required.
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
✓
ABAC policies can be expressed so that access is granted only when the department matches the record's owning business unit, the classification is permitted for that department, the request occurs during approved hours, and the device is managed.
ABAC makes decisions by evaluating policies over attributes of the subject, object, action, and environment, which allows department, data classification, time, and device posture to be combined into a single enforceable rule. The two correct statements capture that multi-attribute evaluation and the ability to express compound conditions that must all hold before access is granted.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ABAC decisions are made by comparing the user's security clearance against the classification label of the object, with no other inputs considered.
Why it's wrong here
Clearance-versus-label comparison is the dominance rule of Mandatory Access Control, which ignores department, time, and device posture. The auditors explicitly require those additional conditions, so a pure label comparison would fail the requirement. This statement describes a different model and would not satisfy the described policy needs.
- ✓
ABAC policies can be expressed so that access is granted only when the department matches the record's owning business unit, the classification is permitted for that department, the request occurs during approved hours, and the device is managed.
Why this is correct
ABAC supports compound policy conditions that must all evaluate true before access is granted. Expressing the department match, classification allowance, approved hours, and managed-device requirement as a combined policy directly implements the auditors' four conditions. This is a correct description of how attribute-driven rules translate business requirements into enforceable access decisions.
- ✗
ABAC removes the need for authentication because attribute values alone are sufficient to prove a user's identity.
Why it's wrong here
ABAC depends on trustworthy attribute values, which in turn require a verified identity; without authentication, an attacker could simply assert favorable attributes. Authentication establishes who the subject is, and attribute sources such as directory services then supply details about that subject. Claiming ABAC eliminates authentication inverts the dependency and would undermine every policy decision the firm builds.
- ✓
ABAC evaluates policies built from attributes of the subject, the object, the action, and the environment, allowing the firm to combine department, classification, time, and device posture in a single decision.
Why this is correct
ABAC is defined by policy evaluation over attributes drawn from multiple sources, including subject attributes like department, object attributes like data classification, action attributes, and environmental attributes such as time or device posture. Combining all four requirement types in one policy decision is exactly what ABAC is designed to do, so this statement correctly describes how the firm meets the auditors' conditions.
- ✗
ABAC requires that each user be assigned exactly one static role, and all access is then determined solely by that role membership.
Why it's wrong here
Single static role assignment describes Role-Based Access Control, not ABAC. ABAC deliberately moves beyond role membership by evaluating many attributes that can change dynamically, such as time of day or device health. Requiring exactly one role per user would actually prevent the firm from honoring the time and device conditions the auditors demanded.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Fundamentals
Key term
Data classification
Data classification is the process of organizing data into categories based on its sensitivity, value, and criticality to an organization, so that appropriate security controls can be applied.
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
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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
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