SSCP Systems and Application Security Practice Question
A small business wants to protect data stored on employee laptops. The security policy requires that if a laptop is lost or stolen, the data on its disk cannot be read by anyone without the proper authentication. Which of the following should be implemented?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is selecting a monitoring or network control that sounds security-related but operates only while the system is running, leaving the disk fully readable after physical theft.
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
✓
Full disk encryption
Full disk encryption ensures that data at rest is ciphertext and unreadable without the correct key or authentication, which is exactly the protection needed when a laptop is lost or stolen. The other controls address runtime monitoring, integrity, or network filtering and do not prevent offline disk reading. For portable devices, encryption is the foundational data-at-rest control.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A personal firewall
Why it's wrong here
A personal firewall filters network traffic to and from the laptop, reducing exposure to remote attacks while the system is running. It offers no protection once the device is physically stolen, because the attacker can read the disk offline. This control addresses network threats, not data-at-rest confidentiality, so it fails the stated requirement.
- ✗
File integrity monitoring
Why it's wrong here
File integrity monitoring detects unauthorized changes to files by comparing hashes against a baseline, which helps identify tampering. It does not encrypt data or prevent reading it from a stolen drive. The requirement is confidentiality of data at rest, and integrity monitoring provides no such protection, making it unsuitable here.
- ✓
Full disk encryption
Why this is correct
Full disk encryption converts the entire drive contents into ciphertext so that data at rest is unreadable without the decryption key or authentication credential. If a laptop is lost or stolen, an attacker cannot extract files by removing the drive. This directly satisfies the requirement that lost-device data remain protected without proper authentication.
- ✗
A host-based intrusion detection system
Why it's wrong here
A host-based intrusion detection system monitors system activity for suspicious behavior and can alert on attacks, but it does not render stored data unreadable on a stolen disk. Once the drive is removed and mounted elsewhere, the detection agent is bypassed entirely. It addresses runtime threats, not data-at-rest confidentiality for lost devices.
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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.