ISC2 CC Security Operations Practice Question
An organization is implementing a security awareness program. Which THREE topics should be included to address common social engineering attacks? (Select THREE)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is selecting technical controls (secure coding, password complexity) instead of human-focused social engineering topics — CC tests whether you can distinguish awareness training content from technical policy.
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
✓
Tailgating awareness
Tailgating awareness (A) is correct because tailgating is a physical social engineering attack where an unauthorized person follows an authorized individual through a secure door, so awareness training must teach employees to challenge strangers and enforce badge/access controls. USB drop attack risks (C) are correct because attackers leave infected USB drives in parking lots or common areas hoping victims plug them in, and awareness training should instruct users never to connect found media. Recognizing phishing emails (D) is correct because phishing is the most common social engineering vector, and training should cover suspicious senders, urgent language, mismatched URLs, and malicious attachments/links. Secure coding practices (B) are not a social engineering topic; they belong to developer security training such as OWASP Top 10 and input validation. Password complexity requirements (E) are a technical authentication control, not a social engineering awareness topic, since social engineering targets human trust rather than password strength rules.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Tailgating awareness
Why this is correct
Tailgating exploits politeness and trust: an attacker follows an authorised person through a controlled door without presenting credentials. Awareness training teaches staff to challenge unfamiliar individuals and enforce badge checks, mitigating this physical social-engineering technique that bypasses electronic access controls.
- ✗
Secure coding practices
Why it's wrong here
Secure coding targets developers building applications, not general staff facing social engineering. It tempts because it is a standard awareness curriculum item, and it would be correct for a developer-focused programme addressing injection, input validation and vulnerability remediation in software.
- ✓
USB drop attack risks
Why this is correct
Dropped USB drives exploit human curiosity: an attacker leaves infected media where staff will plug it in, delivering malware or enabling credential theft. Training users to never insert found drives addresses this physical social-engineering vector, which technical controls alone cannot reliably prevent.
- ✓
Recognizing phishing emails
Why this is correct
Phishing remains the dominant social-engineering vector, using spoofed senders, urgent language and malicious links to harvest credentials or deliver payloads. Teaching users to inspect sender domains, hover over links and report suspicious messages directly reduces successful credential compromise and malware execution.
- ✗
Password complexity requirements
Why it's wrong here
Password complexity is a technical control against brute force, not a social engineering topic; awareness should cover phishing, pretexting and baiting. It tempts because password hygiene appears in most awareness programmes, and it would be correct when addressing credential-related policy compliance rather than manipulation tactics.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Fundamentals
Key term
Organization
An Organization is a top-level container in Google Cloud that represents your company or entities and serves as the root node for all your cloud resources, policies, and access control.
Key term
Tailgating
Tailgating is a physical security breach where an unauthorized person follows an authorized person into a restricted area without proper authentication.
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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.