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CISSP Practice Question: A security team is planning a social engineering…
A security team is planning a social engineering test for their organization. Which of the following scenarios would BEST assess the effectiveness of security awareness training?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose tailgating or vishing because they seem more dramatic or directly test human behavior, but the CISSP exam emphasizes that phishing emails are the most common and effective social engineering vector, and thus the best assessment of security awareness training in a typical enterprise environment.
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
✓
Sending a phishing email that mimics a common internal communication.
Sending a phishing email that mimics a common internal communication directly tests whether employees can recognize and report a realistic social engineering attempt, which is the primary goal of security awareness training. This scenario evaluates the human firewall by simulating the most prevalent attack vector—email-based phishing—and measures the effectiveness of training in reducing click-through rates and increasing reporting behavior.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Sending a phishing email that mimics a common internal communication.
Why this is correct
Sending a phishing email that mimics a common internal communication directly tests the effectiveness of an organization's security awareness training regarding email-borne threats. This method assesses employees' ability to identify suspicious emails, recognize social engineering indicators, and follow established protocols for reporting potential phishing attempts. It provides measurable data on human vulnerability to the most prevalent form of digital social engineering.
- ✗
Calling employees and pretending to be IT support to obtain passwords.
Why it's wrong here
Calling employees and pretending to be IT support to obtain passwords, known as vishing or phone pretexting, primarily tests an individual's susceptibility to verbal manipulation and their adherence to policies against sharing credentials over the phone. While security awareness training may touch upon this, typical programs often place a heavier emphasis on identifying email-based threats due to their widespread prevalence. This approach assesses verbal interaction skills rather than the digital threat recognition central to many training modules.
- ✗
Attempting to tailgate into a secure facility.
Why it's wrong here
Attempting to tailgate into a secure facility is a physical security test, not a direct assessment of an employee's awareness training regarding social engineering tactics. This action evaluates the effectiveness of physical access controls, the vigilance of security personnel, and the adherence of employees to physical security policies, such as challenging unknown individuals. Its focus is on preventing unauthorized physical entry rather than identifying digital or verbal social engineering attempts.
- ✗
Searching through trash bins for sensitive documents.
Why it's wrong here
Searching through trash bins for sensitive documents, commonly known as dumpster diving, tests the organization's physical disposal policies and procedures for confidential information. This activity assesses whether employees are correctly following secure document destruction protocols and if waste management practices prevent the recovery of sensitive data. It primarily evaluates the enforcement of information lifecycle management policies rather than an employee's direct awareness of social engineering attempts targeting them personally.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Governance and Principles
Key term
Security awareness
Security awareness is the ongoing practice of educating people within an organization about cybersecurity risks, safe behaviors, and their individual responsibilities to protect information assets.
Key term
Firewall
A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on predetermined security rules to protect trusted internal networks from untrusted external networks.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.