CISSP Asset Security Practice Question
An organization is developing a privacy program. Which THREE of the following are core principles of privacy by design? (Select 3)
⚠ Common exam trap
CISSP often tests the distinction between privacy principles and general data handling concepts; candidates may pick 'open data sharing' or 'maximum data retention' because they sound like data management best practices, but they contradict privacy by design.
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
✓
Data minimization
Data minimization (B) is a core privacy-by-design principle because it requires collecting only the personal data that is adequate, relevant, and necessary for the specified purpose, reducing exposure and risk. Purpose limitation (C) is correct because personal data must be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes. Storage limitation (E) is correct because data should be kept only as long as necessary for the stated purpose, after which it must be deleted or anonymized. Open data sharing (A) is not a privacy-by-design principle, as unrestricted sharing conflicts with confidentiality and purpose controls, and maximum data retention (D) is the opposite of storage limitation and increases privacy risk.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Open data sharing
Why it's wrong here
Privacy by design principles prioritize user control, confidentiality, and strict access governance over unrestricted dissemination. Uncontrolled or open data sharing directly undermines these safeguards by exposing personally identifiable information (PII) to unauthorized third parties without explicit consent or a valid legal basis.
- ✓
Data minimization
Why this is correct
This core privacy principle dictates that organizations must limit the collection of personal data to what is strictly relevant and necessary to accomplish the specified, legitimate processing purposes. By reducing the volume of personally identifiable information (PII) ingested, organizations significantly lower their overall risk profile and potential breach impact.
- ✓
Purpose limitation
Why this is correct
Purpose limitation requires that personal data be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner incompatible with those original objectives. This prevents scope creep where user data, once harvested, is repurposed for unauthorized profiling, marketing, or secondary analysis without additional consent.
- ✗
Maximum data retention
Why it's wrong here
Retaining personal data indefinitely or maximizing retention periods increases organizational liability and violates the principle of storage limitation. Keeping data longer than necessary expands the attack surface, making the organization vulnerable to severe regulatory penalties under frameworks like GDPR and CCPA during a data breach.
- ✓
Storage limitation
Why this is correct
Storage limitation mandates that personal data must be kept in a form that permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed. Organizations must establish clear retention schedules and implement secure destruction or anonymization protocols once those periods expire.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Governance and Principles
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.
Key term
Privacy
Privacy in IT is the control over how personal data is collected, stored, used, and shared by systems and organizations.
About these practice questions
This CISSP question is part of Courseiva's 816-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
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.