The answer is to remove the temporary firewall rule that allows RDP from any public IP. This is the most immediate corrective action because it directly closes the unauthorized access path that was left open by the misconfigured rule, eliminating the risk of external attackers reaching the sensitive server. In the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CC exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the principle of least privilege and the importance of immediate remediation in incident response—specifically, that you must first stop the active threat before conducting audits or training. A common trap is choosing to disable RDP entirely, but that would disrupt legitimate maintenance; the correct focus is on the specific rule that violates policy. Remember the mnemonic "Kill the Rule, Not the Service" to recall that you should remove the offending firewall rule rather than disabling the entire protocol.
ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
This CC practice question tests your understanding of security principles. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
You are a security analyst at a mid-sized financial firm. The company has a policy that all remote access must be secured using a VPN. Recently, an employee reported that they were able to connect to the internal network from a coffee shop without using the VPN client. The employee accidentally left the client running but it was not authenticating. Upon investigation, you find that the network administrator had configured a rule on the firewall to allow RDP traffic from any public IP to a specific internal server for maintenance purposes. The rule was supposed to be temporary but was never removed. The server contains sensitive customer data. The incident has been reported to management. Which of the following is the most immediate corrective action you should take?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "never"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Remove the temporary firewall rule that allows RDP from any public IP
Correct: Removing the temporary firewall rule closes the unauthorized access path. Option A is wrong because disabling RDP entirely may disrupt legitimate maintenance; Option C is wrong because a security awareness training is long-term, not immediate; Option D is wrong because conducting an audit does not remove the immediate risk.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Remove the temporary firewall rule that allows RDP from any public IP
Why this is correct
This immediately closes the unauthorized access path.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Disable RDP access on all servers
Why it's wrong here
This could disrupt legitimate business operations and is overly broad.
✗
Conduct a full audit of all firewall rules
Why it's wrong here
An audit is useful but does not immediately remove the known threat.
✗
Implement a security awareness training program for all employees
Why it's wrong here
Training is important but not an immediate corrective action for this specific vulnerability.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CC question in full detail.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CC NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Security Principles — This question tests Security Principles — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Remove the temporary firewall rule that allows RDP from any public IP — Correct: Removing the temporary firewall rule closes the unauthorized access path. Option A is wrong because disabling RDP entirely may disrupt legitimate maintenance; Option C is wrong because a security awareness training is long-term, not immediate; Option D is wrong because conducting an audit does not remove the immediate risk.
What should I do if I get this CC question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CC NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "never". Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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