CISSP Identity and Access Management Practice Question
A security analyst is performing an access review. Which THREE of the following are best practices for user access recertification? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Managers confirm that employees still need their current access
Recertification should confirm business need, review actual access, and be periodic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Managers confirm that employees still need their current access
Why this is correct
Managers are uniquely positioned to confirm the ongoing business necessity of an employee's access privileges, as they possess direct insight into daily job functions and responsibilities. This crucial step ensures that access rights align with the principle of least privilege, preventing the accumulation of unnecessary permissions and reducing the overall attack surface within the organization. This verification is fundamental to maintaining a secure access posture.
- ✗
Remove all access and re-provision as needed
Why it's wrong here
Removing all access for every user during a routine access review is an excessively disruptive and impractical approach to privilege management. Such a drastic measure would severely impede business operations, cause significant productivity loss, and generate immense administrative overhead for re-provisioning, making it an unsustainable strategy for regular security maintenance. It's not a standard or recommended recertification practice.
- ✓
Perform recertification annually or more frequently
Why this is correct
Implementing access recertification on an annual basis, or even more frequently for high-risk systems or sensitive data, is a critical best practice for maintaining robust security. This periodic review mechanism ensures that access privileges remain current, accurately reflecting evolving job roles and organizational changes, thereby proactively mitigating the risks associated with stale accounts and privilege creep.
- ✓
Review access against job roles and responsibilities
Why this is correct
A fundamental aspect of an effective access review involves meticulously comparing each user's granted permissions against their officially defined job roles and responsibilities. This process is essential for enforcing the principle of least privilege, identifying any discrepancies where access exceeds operational requirements, and ensuring that entitlements are precisely aligned with legitimate business functions.
- ✗
Automatically approve access if no response
Why it's wrong here
Automatically approving access when a designated reviewer fails to respond to a recertification request is a critical security vulnerability. This practice undermines the entire purpose of an access review, allowing potentially excessive or unnecessary privileges to persist unchecked, thereby significantly increasing the organization's exposure to insider threats and compliance violations. Non-response should trigger escalation or access revocation.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Governance and Principles
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
Key term
Access review
An access review is a periodic audit process where administrators check and confirm which users have permissions to what resources, ensuring only authorized people retain access.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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