The answer is integrity, as the CIA triad’s integrity principle is violated when an attacker modifies patient diagnoses in a hospital’s electronic records. Integrity ensures that data remains accurate, consistent, and unaltered by unauthorized parties, so any unauthorized change—whether to a medical record, a financial transaction, or a configuration file—directly breaks this pillar. On the Microsoft SC-900 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish integrity from confidentiality (unauthorized viewing) and availability (system downtime). A common trap is confusing integrity with confidentiality because both involve unauthorized access, but remember: integrity is about unauthorized *modification*, not just exposure. For a quick memory tip, think “Integrity = Input unchanged”—if data is tampered with, integrity is the first principle to check.
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 hospital stores patient medical records electronically. An attacker gains access to the system and modifies patient diagnoses. Which principle of the CIA triad has been violated?
Why wrong: Confidentiality is about preventing unauthorized disclosure of information, not about unauthorized modification. This option is incorrect.
B
Integrity
Integrity ensures that data is not altered or destroyed by unauthorized parties. The attacker modified patient diagnoses, so integrity is violated.
C
Availability
Why wrong: Availability ensures that information and resources are accessible to authorized users when needed. The scenario does not involve a denial of service, so availability is not violated.
D
Non-repudiation
Why wrong: Non-repudiation ensures that a user cannot deny having performed an action. While relevant in some contexts, the scenario directly involves data modification, not denial of actions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Integrity
The CIA triad's Integrity principle ensures that data is not modified by unauthorized parties. In this scenario, the attacker altered patient diagnoses, which directly violates data integrity. Confidentiality (unauthorized disclosure) and Availability (denial of service) are not the primary concerns here.
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 is about preventing unauthorized disclosure of information, not about unauthorized modification. This option is incorrect.
✓
Integrity
Why this is correct
Integrity ensures that data is not altered or destroyed by unauthorized parties. The attacker modified patient diagnoses, so integrity is violated.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability ensures that information and resources are accessible to authorized users when needed. The scenario does not involve a denial of service, so availability is not violated.
✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation ensures that a user cannot deny having performed an action. While relevant in some contexts, the scenario directly involves data modification, not denial of actions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse 'access' with 'confidentiality' and choose A, but the key is the modification of data, which is a clear integrity violation, not just unauthorized viewing.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Availability ensures that information and resources are accessible to authorized users when needed. The scenario does not involve a denial of service, so availability is not violated.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Integrity is often enforced through cryptographic hashing (e.g., SHA-256) and digital signatures to detect tampering. In healthcare systems, integrity violations can have severe consequences, such as incorrect treatment plans or billing fraud. Real-world attacks like SQL injection or ransomware that encrypts and alters data directly compromise integrity.
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: Integrity — The CIA triad's Integrity principle ensures that data is not modified by unauthorized parties. In this scenario, the attacker altered patient diagnoses, which directly violates data integrity. Confidentiality (unauthorized disclosure) and Availability (denial of service) are not the primary concerns here.
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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