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ISC2 CC Practice Question: After a security audit, a company discovers that…
After a security audit, a company discovers that several employees have access to financial systems that are not required for their job roles. Which access control model would best prevent this issue in the future?
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
✓
Role-based access control (RBAC)
Role-based access control (RBAC) assigns permissions based on job roles, ensuring users have only the access needed for their role. DAC allows owners to give access arbitrarily, which could lead to over-provisioning. MAC is rigid and label-based, not ideal for dynamic business needs. ABAC is flexible but more complex to implement than RBAC for this scenario.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Mandatory access control (MAC)
Why it's wrong here
MAC uses security labels and is too restrictive for typical business environments.
- ✗
Discretionary access control (DAC)
Why it's wrong here
DAC gives resource owners discretion, which can lead to excessive privileges.
- ✓
Role-based access control (RBAC)
Why this is correct
RBAC aligns permissions with job roles, preventing unnecessary access.
- ✗
Attribute-based access control (ABAC)
Why it's wrong here
Attribute-based access control (ABAC) evaluates access decisions against a policy engine using subject, resource, and environmental attributes, but it does not inherently enforce a baseline of least privilege tied to job roles. The stem requires a model that restricts access strictly to what is necessary for a specific role, which ABAC cannot guarantee without a pre-defined role-to-attribute mapping—a function that role-based access control (RBAC) provides natively. ABAC is tempting because it offers fine-grained, dynamic policy enforcement in complex environments, such as granting access based on time of day or location, and would be correct when access rules must adapt to changing contextual attributes rather than static job functions.
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
Introduction to Security Principles
Key term
RBAC
RBAC is a method of restricting network access based on the roles of individual users within an organization, where permissions are assigned to roles rather than to individuals directly.
Key term
MAC
MAC (Media Access Control) is a unique hardware identifier assigned to network interfaces for communication on a local network segment.
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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.