The answer is to disable all shared accounts and implement individual accounts with role-based access control and audit logging. This is correct because a shared admin account creates a fundamental lack of accountability, making it impossible to trace unauthorized changes to a specific individual, which violates the security principle of non-repudiation. By enforcing individual accounts with RBAC, each action is tied to a unique user, and audit logs provide a clear forensic trail, directly addressing the risk of insider threats while preserving operational efficiency through granular permissions. On the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CC exam, this scenario tests your understanding of access control models and the core concept that shared accounts are a critical security weakness, often appearing as a trap where candidates might choose additional monitoring instead of eliminating the root cause. Remember the mnemonic “No Share, No Blame” — without individual accountability, you cannot assign responsibility for any breach.
ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
This CC practice question tests your understanding of security principles. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A financial services firm has a data center that houses customer financial records. They have implemented a defense-in-depth strategy including firewalls, IDS/IPS, and encryption. Recently, an internal audit revealed that a junior administrator has been logging into the database server with a shared admin account and has made unauthorized changes to customer records. The company wants to prevent such incidents in the future while maintaining operational efficiency. The current environment uses Linux servers with PostgreSQL databases. There is no centralized authentication system. What is the BEST action to take?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Disable all shared accounts and implement individual accounts with role-based access control and audit logging
The core issue is the lack of accountability due to a shared admin account. Disabling shared accounts and implementing individual accounts with role-based access control (RBAC) and audit logging directly addresses this by ensuring each action is tied to a specific user, enabling non-repudiation and precise forensic analysis. This aligns with the principle of least privilege and is the most effective way to prevent unauthorized changes while maintaining operational efficiency through granular permission management.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Increase the frequency of password changes for the shared admin account
Why it's wrong here
Shared accounts still lack accountability; password changes do not prevent unauthorized changes.
✓
Disable all shared accounts and implement individual accounts with role-based access control and audit logging
Why this is correct
Correct. This enforces accountability and least privilege.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use database encryption to prevent unauthorized changes
Why it's wrong here
Encryption protects data at rest, but does not prevent authorized users from modifying data.
✗
Implement a network access control (NAC) solution to restrict database access to specific IP addresses
Why it's wrong here
NAC restricts network access but does not prevent authorized users from making unauthorized changes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the misconception that encryption or network controls can solve insider threats, when in reality, only user-level accountability and audit trails can prevent and trace unauthorized actions by authenticated users.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Implementing individual accounts with RBAC in PostgreSQL involves using `CREATE USER` with specific `GRANT` statements (e.g., `GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON table TO user`) and enabling `log_statement = 'all'` in `postgresql.conf` to capture every query. In a real-world scenario, this setup allows an auditor to run `SELECT * FROM pg_stat_activity` and correlate changes with a specific `session_user`, which is impossible with a shared account. The lack of a centralized authentication system (e.g., LDAP) means local PostgreSQL user management is the only viable path, and disabling the shared account forces the use of these individual credentials.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CC question in full detail.
Security Principles — This question tests Security Principles — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Disable all shared accounts and implement individual accounts with role-based access control and audit logging — The core issue is the lack of accountability due to a shared admin account. Disabling shared accounts and implementing individual accounts with role-based access control (RBAC) and audit logging directly addresses this by ensuring each action is tied to a specific user, enabling non-repudiation and precise forensic analysis. This aligns with the principle of least privilege and is the most effective way to prevent unauthorized changes while maintaining operational efficiency through granular permission management.
What should I do if I get this CC question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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