SSCP Security Operations and Administration Practice Question
An employee is leaving the company. As part of the offboarding process, which action should be taken regarding the hardware assigned to the employee?
⚠ Common exam trap
SSCP often tests the misconception that simply deleting files or reformatting a drive is sufficient for sanitisation, when in fact secure overwrite or purge is required to prevent data remanence.
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
✓
Sanitise the hard drive and then dispose or reassign
Sanitising the hard drive before disposal or reassignment is the correct action because it ensures all sensitive company and employee data is securely removed, preventing data leakage. This aligns with data remanence best practices and regulatory requirements for media sanitisation. Reassigning or disposing without sanitisation exposes the organization to data breach risks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Keep the hardware in storage indefinitely
Why it's wrong here
Indefinite storage leaves data recoverable and the asset unaccounted for, so sanitisation and asset-disposal obligations are never met. It is tempting because it feels cautious and reversible, and it would be correct only as a short holding period pending documented wipe or reuse.
- ✓
Sanitise the hard drive and then dispose or reassign
Why this is correct
Sanitising overwrites or cryptographically erases residual data before the drive leaves the departing employee's control, satisfying the offboarding requirement to prevent unauthorised data recovery. Reassignment or disposal without sanitisation would expose company data, so this action directly addresses the hardware handling constraint in the stem.
- ✗
Recycle the hardware without any data removal
Why it's wrong here
Recycling without data removal leaves residual company data readable on the storage media, breaching offboarding sanitisation duties. It is tempting because it appears environmentally responsible, and it would be correct only after the drive has been wiped or destroyed per policy.
- ✗
Reassign the hardware to a new employee without wiping
Why it's wrong here
Reassigning without wiping exposes the previous employee's files, credentials and cached data to the new user, violating least privilege and confidentiality. It is tempting because it avoids procurement cost, and it would be correct after approved sanitisation and reimaging.
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About these practice questions
This SSCP question is part of Courseiva's 971-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.