The answer is confidentiality, as this principle of the CIA triad is primarily designed to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information. By restricting customer records to only authorized employees, the company ensures that data is not disclosed to individuals who lack the proper permissions, which directly upholds the core goal of confidentiality. On the Microsoft SC-900 exam, this concept often appears in scenarios involving access controls, encryption, or data classification, where the key distinction is whether the measure protects against unauthorized viewing (confidentiality) versus unauthorized modification (integrity) or availability. A common trap is confusing confidentiality with integrity when a question mentions "protecting data," but remember that confidentiality is about who can see it, not about whether it remains accurate. For a quick memory tip, think of confidentiality as a locked file cabinet—only those with the right key (authorized access) can open it.
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 company implements a security measure to ensure that only authorized employees can view sensitive customer records. Which principle of the CIA triad does this measure primarily protect?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Confidentiality
Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is accessible only to authorized individuals. By restricting access to customer records to authorized employees, the company directly prevents unauthorized disclosure, which is the core goal of confidentiality in the CIA triad.
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 this is correct
Correct. Confidentiality prevents unauthorized access to information, which matches the requirement to limit access to authorized employees.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Integrity
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Integrity focuses on maintaining the accuracy and consistency of data, not on restricting access.
✗
Availability
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Availability ensures that systems and data are accessible when needed, not specifically who can view them.
✗
Accountability
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Accountability is not part of the CIA triad; it involves tracking actions to a specific user, often through auditing.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse confidentiality with integrity, thinking that preventing unauthorized changes is the same as preventing unauthorized viewing, but confidentiality is about secrecy, not data accuracy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In practice, confidentiality is enforced through mechanisms like encryption (e.g., AES-256 for data at rest, TLS 1.3 for data in transit) and access control lists (ACLs) in Azure RBAC or Active Directory. For example, Azure Information Protection can label and encrypt sensitive customer records so that only users with the appropriate rights can decrypt and view them.
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: Confidentiality — Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is accessible only to authorized individuals. By restricting access to customer records to authorized employees, the company directly prevents unauthorized disclosure, which is the core goal of confidentiality in the CIA triad.
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.
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Question Discussion
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