CISSP Software Development Security Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Least privilege

  Why it's wrong here

  Least privilege is a fundamental security principle dictating that users, programs, or processes should be granted only the minimum necessary access rights to perform their legitimate functions. While crucial for reducing the attack surface and limiting potential damage from a compromise, this principle focuses on controlling access during normal operation and does not directly define the specific behavior or security state a system should adopt when a component fails or an error occurs.

• ✗

  Defense in depth

  Why it's wrong here

  Defense in depth is a comprehensive security strategy that employs multiple, independent layers of security controls to protect assets and information. The aim is to create redundancy, ensuring that if one control fails or is bypassed, another layer will still be in place to provide protection. However, this architectural approach focuses on the overall resilience and layering of security mechanisms, rather than specifying the default security posture a single application or component should adopt upon an internal operational failure.

• ✗

  Separation of duties

  Why it's wrong here

  Separation of duties is an organizational control designed to prevent a single individual from having complete control over a critical process, thereby significantly reducing the risk of fraud, error, or malicious activity. It mandates that tasks requiring high trust or authority be divided among multiple people to ensure checks and balances. This principle is focused on human-centric process control and accountability, not on the technical behavior or security state of an application when it encounters a system malfunction or unexpected operational error.

• ✓

  Fail-secure

  Why this is correct

  Fail-secure, also known as fail-safe, is a critical design principle ensuring that if a system component or process fails, the system defaults to a state that denies access or prevents operations, thus maintaining security. For instance, a locked door remains locked if power fails, or an authentication system denies all access if its backend database becomes unavailable. This approach prioritizes security over availability during a failure event, directly addressing how an application should behave to protect data and resources.

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