SSCP Access Controls Practice Question
A biometric system has a high false rejection rate (FRR). Which of the following is a likely consequence?
⚠ Common exam trap
SSCP often tests the confusion between FAR and FRR; candidates may incorrectly associate high FRR with unauthorized access (which is FAR) or with low CER, so remembering that FRR affects legitimate users is key.
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
✓
Legitimate users may be denied access, leading to frustration
A high false rejection rate (FRR) means the biometric system incorrectly rejects legitimate users. This leads to frustration and potential productivity loss as authorized individuals are denied access. FRR is a key performance metric; a high FRR indicates the system is too strict.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The system will require less frequent calibration
Why it's wrong here
FRR reflects threshold and template-matching sensitivity, not hardware drift, so it implies nothing about calibration frequency. It tempts because calibration is a real maintenance concern for biometric sensors, and reduced calibration would be the correct benefit cited when a sensor's physical stability, not its matching threshold, is being discussed.
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Unauthorized users are more likely to gain access
Why it's wrong here
A high FRR rejects legitimate enrolled users, not impostors; unauthorised access rises with a high false acceptance rate, the opposite error. It tempts because both are biometric error rates, and FAR would be the correct metric to cite when the concern is unauthorised users gaining entry.
- ✓
Legitimate users may be denied access, leading to frustration
Why this is correct
A high false rejection rate means the system wrongly refuses genuine users whose biometrics fail to match the stored template. The consequence is denied access for authorised individuals, causing frustration and extra helpdesk load. This directly satisfies the stem's FRR constraint, since FRR measures valid-user rejections, not impostor acceptance.
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The system's crossover error rate (CER) will be very low
Why it's wrong here
A high FRR pushes the CER upward, since CER is the point where FRR and FAR intersect; a low CER requires both error rates to be low. It tempts because CER is a genuine biometric accuracy metric, and it would be the right measure when comparing devices or tuning the threshold to balance both error types.
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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 SSCP 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 SSCP exam.