SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity
A company stores critical financial reports in a SharePoint Online library. To ensure that the reports have not been tampered with, the security team compares a calculated hash of each file against a stored baseline. This verification process primarily protects which security goal?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse integrity with non-repudiation, as both involve cryptographic verification, but non-repudiation requires a digital signature (private key) to prove origin, whereas hash comparison alone only detects changes without identifying who made them.
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
✓
Integrity
The verification process uses hash comparison to detect unauthorized changes to files, which directly protects data integrity. Integrity ensures that data has not been altered or tampered with during storage or transit. In SharePoint Online, hashing (e.g., SHA-256) creates a unique fingerprint; if the calculated hash matches the stored baseline, the file is unchanged.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
Confidentiality protects against unauthorized disclosure of information. Hashing transforms data into a fixed-size string (a hash value) but does not encrypt or obscure the original content. An attacker who gains unauthorized access to the financial reports can still read them, as hashing is a one-way function designed for integrity verification, not for preventing unauthorized viewing or access to the data itself. Encryption is the primary control for ensuring confidentiality.
- ✓
Integrity
Why this is correct
Integrity ensures that data is authentic, accurate, and has not been modified or tampered with since it was last verified. Hashing generates a unique, fixed-size digital fingerprint of the financial reports. If even a single bit of the report is altered, the recomputed hash will be drastically different, immediately signaling unauthorized modification or corruption. Comparing the stored hash with a newly generated hash directly verifies that the file content remains unchanged and authentic.
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Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability ensures that authorized users can access data and resources when needed. Hashing is a cryptographic process used to verify data integrity; it does not contribute to system uptime, network connectivity, redundancy, or backup strategies. Controls such as redundant systems, disaster recovery plans, and robust infrastructure are implemented to ensure the continuous accessibility of critical financial reports, which is distinct from the function of hashing.
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Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation provides irrefutable proof that a specific entity performed an action, preventing them from denying it later. While hashing is a foundational component of digital signatures, hashing alone does not provide non-repudiation. Hashing merely confirms the data's state; it does not cryptographically link the data's origin or modification to a specific, undeniable actor without the additional step of signing the hash with a private key, which establishes proof of origin and intent.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Core Security Concepts
Key term
Integrity
Integrity is the assurance that data has not been altered or tampered with in an unauthorized way, preserving its accuracy and consistency from source to destination.
Key term
Baseline
A baseline is a documented starting point for the normal performance and behavior of a system, network, or component, used to detect changes and troubleshoot issues.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 SC-900 exam.