hardMultiple Choice
ISC2 CC Practice Question: An organization's security policy requires that…
An organization's security policy requires that all access to sensitive data must be approved by a data owner. An administrator configures a system to enforce this. Which principle is being implemented?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse authorization with accountability or least privilege — candidates often pick 'least privilege' because it sounds security-focused, but the scenario's explicit owner-approval step is a classic authorization decision, not a scope-reduction principle.
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
✓
Authorization
Authorization is the process of granting or denying access to a resource based on a subject's rights or permissions, which is exactly what the data owner approval workflow enforces — access is only permitted after the owner authorizes it. The scenario describes a decision point where permission is explicitly granted, which is the definition of authorization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Accountability
Why it's wrong here
Accountability means actions can be traced to a responsible party through logging and auditing; it records who did what, not who must approve access. It is tempting because approval workflows generate audit trails, but that scenario concerns tracking activity after the fact, whereas this stem requires authorisation by the data owner beforehand.
- ✗
Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege limits each user to the minimum access needed for their role; it constrains permissions, not approval routing. It is tempting because restricting sensitive data access sounds like least privilege, but that principle applies when scoping entitlements, whereas this scenario requires a data owner's explicit authorisation decision.
- ✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation proves an action occurred and cannot be denied, typically via signatures or audit trails; it does not gate access on owner approval. It is tempting because approval records can support non-repudiation evidence, but that applies when disputing whether a transaction happened, not when enforcing authorisation before access.
- ✓
Authorization
Why this is correct
Authorization determines what an authenticated subject may access, and requiring data-owner approval before granting access to sensitive data enforces exactly that permission decision. It governs permitted actions rather than identity verification, matching the approval requirement.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Authentication and Authorization Methods
Key term
Data owner
A senior-level person who is accountable for the classification, protection, and appropriate use of a specific set of data within an organization.
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.
About these practice questions
One of 989 original CC practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.