- A
Integrity
Why wrong: Integrity focuses on ensuring data is accurate and not modified by unauthorized parties. While encryption can protect integrity to some degree, the primary goal described is preventing unauthorized viewing, not modification.
- B
Availability
Why wrong: Availability ensures that data and systems are accessible when needed. The scenario mentions access restrictions and encryption, which do not directly address ensuring uptime or accessibility.
- C
Non-repudiation
Why wrong: Non-repudiation ensures that a user cannot deny having performed an action, often achieved through digital signatures and audit logs. This is not the focus of encryption and access control in this scenario.
- D
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the principle of ensuring that data is only accessible to authorized users. Encryption and access controls are core mechanisms used to achieve confidentiality, making this the correct choice.
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 healthcare organization stores patient records in an encrypted database. Access to the database is restricted to authorized medical staff only. Which security principle is primarily being addressed by these measures?
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
Confidentiality
Confidentiality ensures that sensitive data, such as patient records, is accessible only to authorized individuals. Encryption renders the data unreadable to unauthorized parties, and access restrictions enforce that only authorized medical staff can decrypt and view the records. This directly aligns with the principle of confidentiality, which is a core pillar of 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.
- ✗
Integrity
Why it's wrong here
Integrity focuses on ensuring data is accurate and not modified by unauthorized parties. While encryption can protect integrity to some degree, the primary goal described is preventing unauthorized viewing, not modification.
When this WOULD be correct
A question describing measures to prevent unauthorized alteration of patient records, such as using checksums or audit logs to detect changes, would make integrity the correct answer.
- ✗
Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability ensures that data and systems are accessible when needed. The scenario mentions access restrictions and encryption, which do not directly address ensuring uptime or accessibility.
When this WOULD be correct
A question describing measures like redundant servers, backup power, and disaster recovery plans to ensure systems remain operational despite failures or attacks would make availability the correct answer.
- ✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation ensures that a user cannot deny having performed an action, often achieved through digital signatures and audit logs. This is not the focus of encryption and access control in this scenario.
When this WOULD be correct
A question describing a system where digital signatures are used to prove that a specific doctor accessed or modified a patient record, and the goal is to prevent the doctor from denying that action. For example: 'A hospital implements digital signatures for all electronic prescriptions to ensure that prescribers cannot deny having issued them. Which principle is being addressed?'
- ✓
Confidentiality
Why this is correct
Confidentiality is the principle of ensuring that data is only accessible to authorized users. Encryption and access controls are core mechanisms used to achieve confidentiality, making this the correct choice.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The SC-900 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓ConfidentialityCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Confidentiality is the principle of ensuring that data is only accessible to authorized users. Encryption and access controls are core mechanisms used to achieve confidentiality, making this the correct choice.
✗IntegrityWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question focuses on restricting access to authorized users and encrypting data, which directly protects data from unauthorized disclosure (confidentiality), not from unauthorized modification (integrity).
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question describing measures to prevent unauthorized alteration of patient records, such as using checksums or audit logs to detect changes, would make integrity the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse encryption with integrity because encryption can also detect tampering in some modes, but the primary goal here is access restriction, not data alteration prevention.
✗AvailabilityWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question focuses on encryption and access restrictions, which protect data from unauthorized disclosure, not on ensuring data is accessible when needed (availability).
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question describing measures like redundant servers, backup power, and disaster recovery plans to ensure systems remain operational despite failures or attacks would make availability the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'access restricted to authorized staff' with ensuring that authorized staff can always access the data, but the primary goal here is preventing unauthorized access, not guaranteeing uptime.
✗Non-repudiationWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Non-repudiation ensures that actions cannot be denied by the parties involved, typically through digital signatures or audit logs. The question focuses on restricting access and encrypting data, which directly protects confidentiality, not non-repudiation.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question describing a system where digital signatures are used to prove that a specific doctor accessed or modified a patient record, and the goal is to prevent the doctor from denying that action. For example: 'A hospital implements digital signatures for all electronic prescriptions to ensure that prescribers cannot deny having issued them. Which principle is being addressed?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse non-repudiation with confidentiality because both involve security controls like encryption and access logs, but non-repudiation specifically addresses accountability and denial prevention, not data secrecy.
Analysis generated from the official SC-900blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse confidentiality with integrity, mistakenly thinking that encryption alone also prevents data tampering, but encryption does not inherently protect against unauthorized modification unless combined with integrity checks like hashing or digital signatures.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Availability ensures that data and systems are accessible when needed. The scenario mentions access restrictions and encryption, which do not directly address ensuring uptime or accessibility.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, encryption in this scenario likely uses a symmetric key algorithm such as AES-256 to encrypt the database at rest, with the decryption key managed via Azure Key Vault or a similar HSM. Access restrictions are enforced through role-based access control (RBAC) and conditional access policies, ensuring that only authenticated medical staff with the proper role (e.g., 'Doctor') can retrieve the key and decrypt the data. In a real-world scenario, a breach of confidentiality could occur if an attacker gains access to the decryption key or if a misconfigured firewall exposes the database port, highlighting the need for defense-in-depth.
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-900 question test?
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 data, such as patient records, is accessible only to authorized individuals. Encryption renders the data unreadable to unauthorized parties, and access restrictions enforce that only authorized medical staff can decrypt and view the records. This directly aligns with the principle of confidentiality, which is a core pillar of 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.
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 →
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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