ISC Practice Question: Systems Security Implementation Verification And Validation
When validating the security of an email gateway, which THREE of the following settings should be verified to prevent spoofing and improve trust?
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
✓
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record implementation.
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are the three pillars of email sender verification.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record implementation.
Why this is correct
SPF identifies which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of a domain.
- ✗
Disabling TLS for incoming connections to save bandwidth.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling TLS exposes traffic to eavesdropping.
- ✗
Enabling the 'forward all traffic' rule.
Why it's wrong here
This would likely bypass security checks and lead to mail loops.
- ✓
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) signature configuration.
Why this is correct
DKIM provides a cryptographic signature verifying the email wasn't tampered with.
- ✓
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) policy.
Why this is correct
DMARC leverages SPF and DKIM to provide instructions on how to handle unauthorized email.
About these practice questions
This ISC question is part of Courseiva's 209-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 August 2026 · checked against the official (ISC)² exam blueprint
This ISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free (ISC)² 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 ISC exam.