CISSP Identity and Access Management Practice Question
An employee leaves the company, and their user account is not disabled. This creates a security risk known as:
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse 'orphaned account' with 'insider threat' because both involve a former employee, but the question specifically asks for the name of the security risk created by the account itself, not the general threat category.
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
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Orphaned account
An orphaned account is a user account that remains active in the identity management system after the employee has left the organization. This creates a security risk because the account can be exploited by attackers or former employees to gain unauthorized access to systems, data, or network resources, bypassing access controls that rely on account deactivation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Orphaned account
Why this is correct
When an employee departs an organization and their associated user account remains active in the identity provider or directory services without an assigned owner, it is classified as an orphaned account. These accounts pose significant security risks as they lack accountability and are prime targets for unauthorized access or exploitation.
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Insider threat
Why it's wrong here
While an unmanaged, active account belonging to a former employee can be exploited by a malicious insider to gain unauthorized access, the term "insider threat" refers to the risk vector or actor itself. It does not specifically describe the administrative state of an ownerless, active account remaining in the system.
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Privilege creep
Why it's wrong here
Privilege creep, or aggregation, occurs when a user accumulates excessive access rights and permissions over time as they transition through various roles within an organization without old privileges being revoked. This differs from an orphaned account, which represents a complete account left behind after a user's departure rather than the gradual accumulation of rights.
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Separation of duties violation
Why it's wrong here
Separation of duties is a preventive control designed to prevent fraud and errors by distributing key tasks and associated privileges across multiple users. Leaving a former employee's account active does not inherently violate this principle, as the issue is a failure in the offboarding and identity lifecycle management process rather than a conflict of interest in task assignment.
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
Risk
Risk is the possibility that an event or action will negatively affect an organization's ability to achieve its goals, often measured in terms of likelihood and impact.
About these practice questions
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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.