easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
SSCP Practice Question: A company has 200 employees using a Windows…
A company has 200 employees using a Windows Active Directory environment. The security administrator receives multiple alerts that user accounts are being locked out every 15 minutes. The help desk confirms that users who report the issue are able to log in successfully after unlocking their accounts, but they get locked out again shortly after. The administrator checks the domain controller security logs and sees many failed logon attempts with a specific service account name 'svc_backup' from multiple workstations. The svc_backup account is used for a backup application that runs scheduled tasks. What should the administrator do to resolve the issue?
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
✓
Change the password for svc_backup and update the backup application with the new password
The repeated lockouts are caused by a service account (svc_backup) being used with an incorrect or expired password. The most effective solution is to reset the password for that account and update it in the backup application. Disabling the account or increasing the lockout threshold does not fix the root cause. Creating a new account without addressing the password mismatch will not stop the current account from being used.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Disable the svc_backup account until the backup vendor releases a patch
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the account would stop the lockouts but also break the backup service, causing data loss risk.
- ✓
Change the password for svc_backup and update the backup application with the new password
Why this is correct
This resolves the root cause - the service account's password is likely stale or incorrect, causing repeated authentication failures.
- ✗
Create a new service account with a different name and grant it the same permissions
Why it's wrong here
This does not address why the existing account is being used with a wrong password; the old account may still be in use.
- ✗
Increase the account lockout threshold to prevent lockouts
Why it's wrong here
This only masks the symptom; the failed attempts would continue and the account would still be vulnerable.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.