SSCP Security Operations and Administration Practice Question
A security administrator is configuring a new web server and wants to ensure that the server's operating system and applications are hardened according to organizational standards. Which of the following should the administrator apply to enforce the desired security settings?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse procedural controls like change management with technical configuration baselines.
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
✓
Security baseline
A security baseline provides the specific, documented configuration settings that must be applied to a system to meet security standards. It is the authoritative source for hardening a new server. The other options are important security processes but do not directly enforce the desired technical settings on the server.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Change management process
Why it's wrong here
Change management governs modifications to IT infrastructure, ensuring they are reviewed and approved, but it does not define the actual security settings to apply. It is a procedural control, not a technical configuration. While important, it does not harden the server itself, so it fails to meet the requirement.
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Incident response plan
Why it's wrong here
An incident response plan outlines steps to detect, respond to, and recover from security incidents. It is not used to configure or harden a server. Applying it would not enforce security settings; it is a reactive document. Therefore, it is incorrect for this scenario.
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Vulnerability scan
Why it's wrong here
A vulnerability scan identifies potential weaknesses but does not enforce security settings. It is a detective control, not a preventive one. While scanning after hardening is good practice, the scan itself does not apply the necessary configurations, so it does not satisfy the requirement.
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Security baseline
Why this is correct
A security baseline is a documented set of minimum security settings that must be applied to a system to meet organizational policy. Applying it to the new web server ensures consistent hardening, reduces attack surface, and provides a known configuration to compare against during audits. It directly addresses the need to enforce desired security settings.
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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 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.