ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
A payroll administrator can view salary records for all employees during normal business hours, but only after her manager approves each access request and the system logs the action. Which security principle is BEST illustrated by limiting her access to what her job requires and only when needed?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse least privilege with separation of duties, since both restrict users, but only least privilege limits access to job need rather than splitting a task between people.
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
✓
Least privilege
Least privilege means granting only the access required to perform a job and only when it is required. The payroll administrator sees salary data tied to her role, must obtain approval for each request, and works within defined hours, all of which narrow access to the minimum necessary. Approval and logging reinforce accountability but do not change the underlying principle being demonstrated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation ensures a party cannot credibly deny having performed an action, usually through digital signatures or tamper-evident audit records. The logging in this scenario does create evidence, but the core of the scenario is the deliberate narrowing of access to job requirements, not proof of who did what. Non-repudiation is a property of the evidence, not the principle governing how much access is granted.
- ✓
Least privilege
Why this is correct
Least privilege grants users only the minimum access necessary for their job function and only for as long as it is needed. Restricting the payroll administrator to the salary records her role requires, gated by approval and time windows, is a textbook application. Logging the action adds accountability and supports later review of whether that minimum access was appropriate.
- ✗
Defense in depth
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth layers multiple independent controls so that failure of one does not cause total compromise, for example combining firewalls, endpoint protection, and authentication. The scenario describes a single access decision constrained by job need rather than several overlapping layers of protection. While approval and logging are additional controls, they support the same access decision rather than forming independent defensive layers.
- ✗
Separation of duties
Why it's wrong here
Separation of duties splits a sensitive task across two or more people so that no single individual can complete it alone, such as having one person create a vendor and another approve payment. Here the administrator still performs the whole viewing action herself; only the scope and timing of her access are constrained. The scenario therefore does not demonstrate task splitting between multiple parties.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Key term
Access control
Access control is the security practice of determining who or what is allowed to view, use, or enter a resource, and under what conditions.
Key term
Least privilege
Least privilege is a security principle that means giving users, systems, or programs only the minimum permissions they need to do their job and nothing more.
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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
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.