SSCP Security Operations and Administration Practice Question
A security administrator is tasked with implementing a defense-in-depth strategy for the organization's data center. The administrator wants to ensure that physical access to servers is restricted to authorized personnel only. Which of the following controls should be implemented to achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse detective controls like cameras with preventive controls, or logical controls with physical ones, when the requirement is specifically for physical access restriction.
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
✓
Deploy a mantrap at the entrance to the data center.
To restrict physical access to authorized personnel, a preventive physical control is needed. A mantrap enforces one-person-at-a-time entry and prevents tailgating, directly restricting access. Cameras are detective, biometric server logins are logical, and raised flooring is infrastructural. Therefore, the mantrap is the correct choice.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Install security cameras throughout the data center.
Why it's wrong here
Security cameras are a detective control, not a preventive one. They record activity but do not physically restrict access. While they are useful for monitoring and investigating incidents after the fact, they do not prevent unauthorized personnel from entering. The requirement is to restrict access to authorized personnel only, so a preventive control is needed, not just detection.
- ✓
Deploy a mantrap at the entrance to the data center.
Why this is correct
A mantrap is a physical security control that consists of a small space with two interlocking doors. It allows only one person to enter at a time and can detect tailgating. By requiring authentication at both doors, it ensures that only authorized personnel can access the data center. This directly restricts physical access to authorized individuals and is a strong preventive control.
- ✗
Use raised flooring to protect cabling and improve airflow.
Why it's wrong here
Raised flooring is a physical infrastructure element that helps with cable management and cooling, but it does not control access. It does not prevent unauthorized individuals from entering the data center. While it is part of data center design, it is not an access control. Therefore, it does not satisfy the requirement to restrict physical access to authorized personnel.
- ✗
Implement biometric authentication for server logins.
Why it's wrong here
Biometric authentication for server logins is a logical access control, not a physical one. It restricts access to the server operating system but does not prevent someone from physically entering the data center and tampering with hardware. The question specifically asks for physical access restriction. Thus, this control addresses a different layer of security and does not meet the requirement.
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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.