ISC2 CC Access Controls Concepts Practice Question
An employee is assigned a user account with read-only access to the sales database. However, the employee's job requires viewing only customer contact information, not sales figures. Which access control principle is being violated?
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
✓
Need-to-know
Need-to-know restricts access to only the data necessary for job functions, separate from the permissions level (least privilege). Here, the employee has permissions to read data they do not need.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Defense in depth
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth is about layered controls.
- ✗
Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege concerns the level of permissions (read-only is minimal), but need-to-know is about data scope.
- ✗
Separation of duties
Why it's wrong here
Separation of duties involves splitting tasks, not data access scope.
- ✓
Need-to-know
Why this is correct
Even with read-only access, the employee should only access data required for their role.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Fundamentals
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CC question from scratch — 976 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.