hardMultiple Choice
ISC2 CC Practice Question: Requires that two separate administrators approve…
An organization requires that two separate administrators approve and implement changes to firewall rules. This practice enforces which security principle?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests separation of duties by describing a scenario involving multiple people for a single task, and the trap is confusing it with least privilege, which focuses on limiting permissions rather than splitting responsibilities.
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
Requiring two separate administrators to approve and implement firewall rule changes enforces separation of duties. This principle ensures that no single individual has the authority to both authorize and execute a change, reducing the risk of unauthorized modifications or errors. In firewall management, this prevents a single admin from introducing malicious or misconfigured rules without oversight.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege restricts each account to the minimum access required for its tasks; it does not require two people to approve and implement a change. Separation of duties is the principle mandating that no single administrator both authorises and performs the action, preventing unilateral changes.
- ✗
Defense in depth
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth layers multiple independent controls so one failure does not compromise the system. Requiring two administrators to approve and implement a change is separation of duties, which divides a single task between people rather than stacking overlapping technical controls.
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Need to know
Why it's wrong here
Need to know limits access to information based on job function, not on how many people authorise a change. Two-person approval enforces separation of duties. Need to know would be correct when restricting which data an administrator may view, not when splitting approval from implementation.
- ✓
Separation of duties
Why this is correct
Separation of duties splits a sensitive transaction across two administrators so no single identity can both approve and implement a firewall change. Requiring two separate approvals prevents unilateral modification, satisfying the control that removes single-person authority over critical configuration.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Risk Management and Security Controls
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.
Key term
Firewall rule
A firewall rule is a set of conditions that tells a firewall which network traffic to allow or block based on attributes like source, destination, port, and protocol.
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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.