ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
A security administrator is selecting controls to protect the confidentiality of a database containing customer PII. Which TWO controls are most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
CC often tests the distinction between confidentiality, integrity, and availability controls; candidates may incorrectly select hashing (integrity) or load balancing/redundant power (availability) when asked for confidentiality controls.
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
✓
Access control lists
Access control lists (C) are appropriate because they enforce authorization by restricting which users, roles, or hosts may read the PII records, directly limiting exposure to only approved principals. Database encryption (D) is appropriate because it protects confidentiality at rest and, when applied to columns or tablespaces, renders the PII unreadable if the storage or backups are compromised. Hashing (A) is not suitable here because it is a one-way integrity mechanism, not a reversible confidentiality control for data that must be read back. Load balancing (B) and redundant power supplies (E) are availability controls and do nothing to prevent unauthorized disclosure of PII.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Hashing
Why it's wrong here
Hashing is one-way and cannot be reversed, so it protects integrity and stored password verification rather than the confidentiality of readable PII fields. It is tempting because hashed values resist disclosure, but encryption with keys is needed when the database must return the original plaintext to applications.
- ✗
Load balancing
Why it's wrong here
Load balancing distributes traffic across servers to improve availability and performance; it neither encrypts stored data nor restricts access, so it does nothing for PII confidentiality. It is tempting because it is a common database-tier control, but it would be the right choice for resilience or throughput, not protecting data at rest or in transit.
- ✓
Access control lists
Why this is correct
Access control lists restrict database access to authorised identities, enforcing least privilege so only approved users reach customer PII. This satisfies the stem's confidentiality requirement by preventing unauthorised disclosure, unlike integrity-focused controls such as hashing or digital signatures.
- ✓
Database encryption
Why this is correct
Database encryption renders stored data unreadable without the correct keys, so anyone who exfiltrates the files or gains raw disk access still cannot read customer PII. This directly satisfies the stem's confidentiality constraint, protecting data at rest rather than merely restricting logical access.
- ✗
Redundant power supplies
Why it's wrong here
Redundant power supplies address availability by preventing outages from a failed PSU; they provide no encryption, access control, or masking of PII. It is tempting because it is a standard data-centre safeguard, but it would be correct for uptime and fault tolerance, not for preserving the confidentiality of customer records.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Authentication and Authorization Methods
Key term
Confidentiality
Confidentiality means keeping sensitive information secret and accessible only to authorized people or systems.
Key term
Exposure
Exposure is the measure of potential loss or harm to an organization's assets when a vulnerability is exploited by a threat, often expressed as the window of time or degree of access an attacker has.
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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.