Quick Answer
The answer is to monitor and audit privileged account usage, as this is the foundational principle of privileged access management (PAM). Privileged access management is built on the concept of least privilege, but its core operational requirement is continuous oversight of high-risk accounts like root or domain admin to detect misuse, lateral movement, or privilege escalation. On the CISSP exam, this principle tests your understanding that PAM is not just about restricting access but about enforcing accountability through logging and review—a common trap is confusing PAM with simple password vaulting. Remember that without auditing, you cannot prove who did what, which breaks the entire security model. A useful memory tip is “PAM = Protect, Audit, Monitor,” with the emphasis on the last two.
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of security operations. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which of the following is a key principle of privileged access management (PAM)?
Use shared accounts for simplicity
Why wrong: Reduces accountability and traceability.
Monitor and audit privileged account usage
Key to detecting misuse and ensuring accountability.
Grant all users administrative rights for efficiency
Why wrong: Violates principle of least privilege.
Disable logging for performance
Why wrong: Logging is critical for security monitoring.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Monitor and audit privileged account usage
Privileged Access Management (PAM) is centered on the principle of least privilege and the need to control, monitor, and audit the use of privileged accounts (e.g., root, domain admin). Option B is correct because continuous monitoring and auditing of privileged account usage is a foundational PAM requirement, enabling detection of misuse, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. Without auditing, organizations cannot enforce accountability or respond to security incidents involving high-risk accounts.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Use shared accounts for simplicity
Why it's wrong here
Reduces accountability and traceability.
Monitor and audit privileged account usage
Why this is correct
Key to detecting misuse and ensuring accountability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Grant all users administrative rights for efficiency
Why it's wrong here
Violates principle of least privilege.
Disable logging for performance
Why it's wrong here
Logging is critical for security monitoring.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse PAM with general identity management and choose 'shared accounts for simplicity' (Option A), failing to recognize that PAM specifically enforces individual accountability and credential rotation, not shared access.
Detailed technical explanation
PAM solutions often implement session isolation via jump servers or bastion hosts, recording all privileged sessions using protocols like SSH or RDP with video-like replay. Under the hood, PAM tools integrate with directory services (e.g., Active Directory) to dynamically rotate passwords or SSH keys after each use, preventing credential reuse. In a real-world scenario, a PAM audit log might capture a user executing 'sudo -i' on a critical server, with the session recorded and indexed for SIEM correlation, enabling rapid incident response.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Monitor and audit privileged account usage — Privileged Access Management (PAM) is centered on the principle of least privilege and the need to control, monitor, and audit the use of privileged accounts (e.g., root, domain admin). Option B is correct because continuous monitoring and auditing of privileged account usage is a foundational PAM requirement, enabling detection of misuse, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. Without auditing, organizations cannot enforce accountability or respond to security incidents involving high-risk accounts.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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