- A
Least privilege
Why wrong: Least privilege involves granting only the permissions needed to perform a job, not dividing responsibilities across multiple people.
- B
Separation of duties
This principle distributes critical functions among different individuals to prevent any single person from having excessive control, reducing the risk of fraud or error.
- C
Defense in depth
Why wrong: Defense in depth uses multiple layers of security controls (e.g., firewalls, antivirus) rather than segregating duties.
- D
Zero Trust
Why wrong: Zero Trust assumes no implicit trust and requires continuous verification, but it does not specifically address the division of tasks among users.
Question 831 of 1,411
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. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 uses a financial accounting system where the employee who creates a purchase order cannot also approve it. This policy is designed to prevent a single individual from committing fraud by both initiating and approving a transaction. Which security principle does this practice primarily implement?
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
✓
Separation of duties
The practice of requiring different individuals to create and approve purchase orders directly implements the separation of duties principle. This security control ensures that no single person has complete control over a sensitive financial transaction, thereby reducing the risk of fraud or error. In the context of identity and access management, separation of duties enforces that conflicting tasks are assigned to different users to prevent abuse of privileges.
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.
- ✗
Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege involves granting only the permissions needed to perform a job, not dividing responsibilities across multiple people.
When this WOULD be correct
In a scenario where a company restricts a user's access to only the specific files needed for their job, such as a customer service representative only having read access to customer records and no access to financial data, the principle of least privilege would be the correct answer.
- ✓
Separation of duties
Why this is correct
This principle distributes critical functions among different individuals to prevent any single person from having excessive control, reducing the risk of fraud or error.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Defense in depth
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth uses multiple layers of security controls (e.g., firewalls, antivirus) rather than segregating duties.
When this WOULD be correct
An exam question might ask: 'A company implements firewalls, intrusion detection, antivirus, and employee training to protect its network. Which security principle does this illustrate?' In that context, defense in depth would be correct because it describes multiple layers of security controls.
- ✗
Zero Trust
Why it's wrong here
Zero Trust assumes no implicit trust and requires continuous verification, but it does not specifically address the division of tasks among users.
When this WOULD be correct
A question that asks: 'A company implements a policy where all network access requests must be authenticated and authorized regardless of whether they originate from inside or outside the corporate network. Which security principle does this describe?'
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.
✓Separation of dutiesCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
This principle distributes critical functions among different individuals to prevent any single person from having excessive control, reducing the risk of fraud or error.
✗Least privilegeWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The policy prevents the same person from both creating and approving a purchase order, which is a classic example of separation of duties, not least privilege. Least privilege would limit access rights to only what is necessary for a role, but it does not address the conflict of interest between initiating and approving transactions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a scenario where a company restricts a user's access to only the specific files needed for their job, such as a customer service representative only having read access to customer records and no access to financial data, the principle of least privilege would be the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse least privilege with separation of duties because both involve restricting user actions, but least privilege focuses on minimal access rights, while separation of duties focuses on dividing critical tasks among multiple people to prevent fraud.
✗Defense in depthWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Defense in depth is a layered security strategy using multiple controls, not a principle that separates conflicting duties to prevent fraud. The question specifically asks about preventing a single individual from both initiating and approving a transaction, which is the definition of separation of duties.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An exam question might ask: 'A company implements firewalls, intrusion detection, antivirus, and employee training to protect its network. Which security principle does this illustrate?' In that context, defense in depth would be correct because it describes multiple layers of security controls.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'defense in depth' with any security practice that involves multiple controls, mistakenly thinking that separating duties is a form of layered defense, rather than recognizing it as a distinct principle of internal control.
✗Zero TrustWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Zero Trust is a security model that assumes no implicit trust and continuously verifies every access request, but it does not specifically address the separation of conflicting duties like creating and approving purchase orders.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question that asks: 'A company implements a policy where all network access requests must be authenticated and authorized regardless of whether they originate from inside or outside the corporate network. Which security principle does this describe?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Zero Trust with any security control that prevents fraud, not realizing that Zero Trust focuses on access verification rather than role-based task separation.
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 confuse separation of duties with least privilege, but least privilege limits the scope of permissions while separation of duties divides critical tasks to prevent a single point of failure or fraud.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Separation of duties is often enforced through role-based access control (RBAC) by defining mutually exclusive roles, such as 'Purchase Order Creator' and 'Purchase Order Approver'. In Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), this can be implemented using custom roles or access reviews to ensure no user is assigned both roles. A real-world scenario is in financial systems where the same user cannot both issue a payment and reconcile the bank statement, preventing embezzlement.
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Separation of duties — The practice of requiring different individuals to create and approve purchase orders directly implements the separation of duties principle. This security control ensures that no single person has complete control over a sensitive financial transaction, thereby reducing the risk of fraud or error. In the context of identity and access management, separation of duties enforces that conflicting tasks are assigned to different users to prevent abuse of privileges.
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
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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