ISC2 CC Access Controls Concepts Practice Question
A Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution is used to:
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
✓
Control and monitor privileged accounts and sessions
PAM solutions control, monitor, and audit privileged access to critical systems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Control and monitor privileged accounts and sessions
Why this is correct
PAM brokers access to privileged credentials, vaulting them and injecting sessions through a controlled jump host. This delivers both control (least privilege, approval workflows, credential rotation) and monitoring (keystroke and command logging), satisfying the requirement to govern administrative accounts rather than ordinary user identities.
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Encrypt data at rest
Why it's wrong here
PAM brokers, vaults and audits privileged accounts and sessions; encryption of stored data is handled by disk, database or file encryption, not PAM. It is tempting because PAM protects sensitive systems, but its mechanism is credential custody and session monitoring, not cryptographic protection of data at rest.
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Manage user passwords and enforce complexity
Why it's wrong here
Password complexity and rotation are enforced by directory password policies, not PAM. PAM vaults, brokers and audits privileged credentials such as administrative accounts, service accounts and root passwords, checking them out only for approved sessions. It is tempting because PAM does manage privileged account secrets, but routine user password rules sit outside its scope.
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Provide single sign-on for all applications
Why it's wrong here
Single sign-on is delivered by federation or identity providers such as Microsoft Entra ID; PAM instead controls, vaults and records elevated sessions. It is tempting because PAM does authenticate privileged users, but its purpose is just-in-time elevation and credential checkout, not seamless sign-on across ordinary business applications for the whole workforce.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Risk Management and Security Controls
Key term
PAM
Privileged Access Management (PAM) is a security framework that controls, monitors, and audits access to critical systems and accounts with elevated permissions.
Key term
Audit
An audit is a systematic, independent review of IT systems, processes, and controls to verify compliance with policies, standards, and regulations.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.