hardMultiple Choice
SSCP Practice Question: During a security audit, it is discovered that…
During a security audit, it is discovered that several employees have access to shared network drives containing sensitive HR data. The HR manager states that these employees no longer need access. What is the most efficient way to revoke access?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates think manually removing permissions (Option D) is more precise, but they overlook that group-based management is the most efficient and scalable method in enterprise environments, and that deleting accounts (Option B) is a disproportionate response that violates operational continuity.
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
✓
Remove the users from the security group that grants access to the drives.
The most efficient way to revoke access is to remove the users from the security group that grants access to the drives. In Windows environments, shared drive permissions are typically assigned to Active Directory security groups rather than individual users. By removing the users from the group, their permissions are revoked immediately across all resources that group has access to, without needing to touch each resource individually.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Remove the users from the security group that grants access to the drives.
Why this is correct
Access to the shared drives is granted through security group membership, so removing the users from that group revokes their permissions in one action. Editing each folder's ACL individually would be slower and error-prone, making group removal the most efficient approach.
- ✗
Delete the user accounts of the affected employees.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting accounts removes identities needed for email, payroll and audit history, far beyond drive access. It suits offboarding a departed employee permanently. Revoking only the share requires removing the users from the group granting that drive's permissions.
- ✗
Reconfigure the shared drive to deny access to all users except HR.
Why it's wrong here
Denying all users except HR overwrites the existing access control list, disrupting legitimate staff and other groups. It suits rebuilding a drive's permissions from scratch. Revoking the named employees' access requires removing them from the group that grants the share.
- ✗
Manually remove each user's permissions on the shared drive.
Why it's wrong here
Removing permissions individually on the drive is slow and error-prone across many users, and leaves stale entries. It suits one-off corrections for a single account. Efficient revocation uses group membership, so removing users from the authorised group drops their inherited access at once.
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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.