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ISC2 CC Practice Question: A security manager is designing a policy to…
A security manager is designing a policy to prevent one person from both approving and disbursing payments. Which principle is being applied?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests separation of duties by pairing it with 'least privilege' in the same question, and the trap is that candidates confuse the two because both limit access, but separation of duties specifically prevents conflicting task combinations, not just reducing permissions.
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
✓
Separation of duties
Separation of duties ensures that no single individual has control over two or more phases of a critical transaction, such as both approving and disbursing payments. By splitting these responsibilities, the organization reduces the risk of fraud or error because collusion between two or more people would be required to bypass controls. In payment systems, this is often enforced through dual-authorization workflows in ERP or financial management software.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Separation of duties
Why this is correct
Separation of duties ensures that no single individual has control over multiple critical tasks, reducing fraud risk.
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Need to know
Why it's wrong here
Need to know restricts information access, not task execution.
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Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege limits access to what is needed, but does not specifically address dividing tasks.
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Defense in depth
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth uses multiple layers of security, not task division.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Security Principles
Key term
Policy
A policy is a set of rules or guidelines that defines how an organization manages, secures, and operates its IT systems and services.
Key term
Separation of duties
Separation of duties is a security principle that splits critical tasks and privileges among multiple people to prevent fraud, errors, and abuse of power.
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JA
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.