ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
Which of the following controls is primarily designed to ensure availability?
⚠ Common exam trap
The CC exam often tests whether candidates can map controls to the correct CIA triad element, and redundancy is sometimes confused with integrity or confidentiality controls.
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
✓
Redundant servers
Redundant servers ensure availability by eliminating single points of failure — if one server fails, another continues to provide the service. This directly supports the availability leg of the CIA triad.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Redundant servers
Why this is correct
Redundant servers directly satisfy the availability requirement by eliminating single points of failure: if one server fails, another continues serving requests, so the service remains accessible. Unlike confidentiality or integrity controls, redundancy targets uptime specifically, matching the stem's availability constraint through failover rather than prevention of unauthorised access or data alteration.
- ✗
Encryption
Why it's wrong here
Encryption renders data unreadable to unauthorised parties, protecting confidentiality in transit or at rest; it does nothing to keep a service reachable. Encryption would be correct when the requirement is preventing disclosure of sensitive data, not maintaining availability.
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Digital signatures
Why it's wrong here
Digital signatures verify origin and integrity of a message or document, providing authentication and non-repudiation; they do not sustain service uptime. A digital signature would be the right control when proving a document was not altered and came from a named signer.
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Access control lists
Why it's wrong here
Access control lists filter traffic by permit or deny rules, enforcing confidentiality and integrity at the network edge; they do not maintain service uptime. They would be the correct choice for restricting which hosts or subnets may reach a resource, not for ensuring availability.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Key term
Confidentiality Integrity and Availability
The CIA Triad is a foundational security model that ensures data is kept secret, unaltered, and accessible when needed.
Key term
Availability
Availability is the measure of how often a system or service is operational and accessible when needed, typically expressed as a percentage of uptime.
About these practice questions
This CC question is part of Courseiva's 989-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. 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.