Try 12 free ISC2 SSCP practice questions
Real exam-style questions taken word for word from the ISC2 SSCP study guide. Three are below, with the full answer explanation. Enter your email and the full 12-question PDF is yours.
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Three questions to try right now
Work each one before you open the answer. These are the same style and depth as the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) exam expects.
Question 1. An organization deploys a shared service account used by multiple administrators for routine maintenance tasks. No individual login activity is recorded against personal accounts. Which security concept is MOST undermined by this practice?
- A. Confidentiality
- B. Availability
- C. Accountability
- D. Integrity
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Answer: C. Accountability requires that actions can be traced back to a specific individual through identification, authentication, and auditing. When multiple administrators share a single account and actions are logged only to that account, no individual can be held responsible for any specific action, accountability is destroyed.
- A: Confidentiality concerns unauthorized disclosure. Using a shared account does not inherently expose data to unauthorized parties.
Question 2. A healthcare organization's security team is evaluating its control environment against HIPAA requirements. They map existing controls to required controls and identify shortfalls. This activity is BEST described as which aspect of Objective 1.3?
- A. Periodic audit and review
- B. Implementing technical controls
- C. Assessing compliance requirements
- D. Deploying administrative controls
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Answer: C. Assessing compliance requirements involves identifying which controls are mandated by law, regulation, or contract, and determining whether existing controls satisfy those requirements through a gap analysis. Mapping existing controls against a regulatory control set is precisely a compliance assessment activity.
- A: Periodic audit and review verifies that controls already in place are still operating correctly. The scenario describes a gap analysis against regulatory requirements, not a verification of existing control operation.
Question 3. A security team places a warning banner on all corporate login screens that reads "Unauthorized access is prohibited and monitored." No authentication is required to view the banner. Which functional control type does this MOST accurately represent?
- A. Preventative
- B. Corrective
- C. Deterrent
- D. Detective
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Answer: C. A deterrent control discourages a threat actor from attempting an attack by signaling consequences or monitoring, it acts before any hostile action begins. A warning banner signals to a potential attacker that their activity is monitored and unauthorized access is prohibited. It does not block or detect activity, it discourages it.
- A: Preventative controls actively block an attack from succeeding (e.g., a firewall blocking traffic). The banner does not stop anything, it only warns.
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