CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Practice Test

Correct answer: C. Physical

Correct. A badge reader is a physical control: it restricts physical access to a space. The category axis (technical, managerial, operational, physical) describes what kind of thing the control is, separate from its function. Source: SY0-701 objective 1.1.

• A: Managerial controls are administrative items such as policies, risk assessments and standards, not door hardware.
• B: Operational controls are carried out by people as part of day-to-day process, such as awareness training or guard patrols. A reader that enforces entry by itself is a physical control.
• D: Technical controls are implemented in hardware or software to protect systems and data, such as firewalls or encryption. Controlling a door is physical access, not system access.

Correct answer: A. Deterrent

Correct. A deterrent control discourages an attacker from acting by making the attempt seem risky, even when it cannot physically stop or record anything. The sign only changes the attacker's decision. Source: SY0-701 objective 1.1.

• B: A corrective control restores a system after an incident, such as restoring from backup. The sign has no role after an event.
• C: A preventive control physically or logically stops an action, such as a locked gate. The sign stops nothing on its own.
• D: A detective control identifies and records an event that has occurred, such as working cameras or log review. A sign with no cameras detects nothing.

Correct answer: B. Compensating

Correct. A compensating control is put in place when the primary control cannot be applied, providing an alternative that reduces the same risk. The segment plus jump host stands in for the missing MFA. Source: SY0-701 objective 1.1.

• A: A deterrent control discourages an attacker from trying. The segment blocks access regardless of the attacker's intent.
• C: A directive control tells people what to do, such as a policy or a posted procedure. The restriction here is enforced on the network, not communicated as an instruction.
• D: A detective control finds events after they happen. Segmentation prevents access rather than detecting it.

Correct answer: B. Managerial category, directive type

Correct. A written policy is a managerial (administrative) control, and because it instructs staff on required behavior it functions as a directive control. Category and type are two separate axes and this item asks for both. Source: SY0-701 objective 1.1.

• A: A policy is not implemented in hardware or software, so it is not technical, and a document cannot by itself prevent an action.
• C: A policy is not a physical control. Physical controls are things like locks, fences and guards.
• D: Operational controls are executed by people as part of routine processes; a policy document sets rules rather than performing a process, and it does not detect events.

Correct answer: C. Corrective

Correct. Corrective controls act after an incident to restore systems to a working state or limit further damage. Reimaging infected hosts is a textbook corrective action. Source: SY0-701 objective 1.1.

• A: Preventive controls stop an incident before it occurs. The outbreak already happened, so the restoration is a response, not prevention.
• B: Detective controls discover that something happened, such as an antivirus alert. Restoring images fixes the damage rather than finding it.
• D: Compensating controls substitute for a primary control that cannot be used. Nothing here is being substituted; the restoration is a direct remedy.