The answer is accountability. This security concept ensures that every action affecting sensitive data can be uniquely traced back to an individual, which is exactly what logging who accessed financial records, when, and from which device achieves. By creating a detailed audit trail, the organization establishes non-repudiation and supports forensic analysis, holding users responsible for their behavior. On the Microsoft SC-900 exam, accountability is frequently tested alongside audit trails and logging controls, often as a distractor against integrity or availability. A common trap is confusing accountability with authorization—remember that authorization controls who can act, while accountability proves who did act. Memory tip: think of “audit” as the key to accountability—if you can audit it, you can hold someone accountable.
SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A financial organization implements a security control that logs every access attempt to sensitive financial records, including who accessed the data, when it was accessed, and from which device. The logs are regularly reviewed by the security team. This control primarily addresses which security concept?
Why wrong: Confidentiality ensures that data is accessible only to authorized users. Logging does not directly prevent unauthorized access; it records it after the fact.
B
Integrity
Why wrong: Integrity ensures data is not tampered with. Logging access does not prevent modification; it only records who accessed the data.
C
Availability
Why wrong: Availability ensures data is accessible when needed. Logging does not affect the uptime or accessibility of the system.
D
Accountability
Accountability means that actions can be traced back to a specific user. Logging access and reviewing logs provides an audit trail to hold users responsible for their actions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Accountability
Accountability ensures that actions affecting sensitive data can be traced uniquely to an individual. By logging who accessed the data, when, and from which device, the organization creates an audit trail that holds users responsible for their actions. This directly supports non-repudiation and forensic analysis, which are the core goals of accountability.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
Confidentiality ensures that data is accessible only to authorized users. Logging does not directly prevent unauthorized access; it records it after the fact.
✗
Integrity
Why it's wrong here
Integrity ensures data is not tampered with. Logging access does not prevent modification; it only records who accessed the data.
✗
Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability ensures data is accessible when needed. Logging does not affect the uptime or accessibility of the system.
✓
Accountability
Why this is correct
Accountability means that actions can be traced back to a specific user. Logging access and reviewing logs provides an audit trail to hold users responsible for their actions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse logging with confidentiality, thinking that tracking access prevents unauthorized viewing, when in fact logging only records the event and does not block the access itself.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, accountability relies on audit logs that capture identity (e.g., via Kerberos or SAML assertions), timestamp (often synchronized via NTP), and device fingerprint (e.g., IP address or MAC). In real-world scenarios, such logs are essential for compliance with regulations like SOX or GDPR, where organizations must demonstrate who accessed financial records and when, enabling incident response teams to reconstruct a breach timeline.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-900 question in full detail.
Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity — This question tests Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Accountability — Accountability ensures that actions affecting sensitive data can be traced uniquely to an individual. By logging who accessed the data, when, and from which device, the organization creates an audit trail that holds users responsible for their actions. This directly supports non-repudiation and forensic analysis, which are the core goals of accountability.
What should I do if I get this SC-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.