SSCP Network and Communications Security Practice Question
Which wireless security standard replaces WPA2 and mandates Protected Management Frames (PMF) to prevent certain types of attacks?
⚠ Common exam trap
SSCP often tests the specific features that distinguish WPA3 from WPA2, and candidates may incorrectly associate PMF with WPA2 or confuse 802.1X with a wireless security standard.
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
✓
WPA3
WPA3 is the wireless security standard that replaces WPA2 and mandates Protected Management Frames (PMF) to prevent attacks such as deauthentication and disassociation. PMF provides integrity protection for management frames, which WPA2 did not require.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
802.1X
Why it's wrong here
802.1X is a port-based network access control framework for authentication, not a wireless encryption standard, and it does not mandate PMF. It would be the right answer when the question asks how supplicants authenticate to a network via an authentication server.
- ✓
WPA3
Why this is correct
WPA3 mandates Protected Management Frames, which authenticate and encrypt management frames so attackers cannot forge deauthentication or disassociation frames. WPA2 left these frames unprotected, enabling those denial-of-service and handshake-capture attacks. This mandatory PMF requirement is precisely the constraint the stem specifies.
- ✗
WEP
Why it's wrong here
WEP is an obsolete encryption protocol superseded long before WPA2, offering neither PMF nor adequate confidentiality. It would only be relevant when identifying legacy vulnerabilities during a security assessment, not when selecting the standard that replaces WPA2 with mandatory Protected Management Frames.
- ✗
WPA2
Why it's wrong here
WPA2 does not replace itself and only offers PMF as optional; WPA3 mandates it. WPA2 remains the correct choice when a network must support legacy clients lacking WPA3, but it cannot satisfy a requirement for mandatory Protected Management Frames.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 971 original SSCP practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.