AP Cybersecurity Drill 6: Records-Room Physical Controls

Question 1. Which control model best describes how the manager wants entry to the records room to work?

• A) Open access, since essentially any employee in the office may occasionally need a file
• B) Discretionary access at each keyholder's choice, so current keyholders decide who else may enter
• C) Mandatory labeling of every file with a sensitivity level that dictates who may handle it
• D) Role-based access, so only staff whose job requires closing files are authorized to enter ✓

Explanation: Choice D is correct. Granting entry based on whether a person's job role requires closing files is role-based access control (RBAC), which matches the manager's least-privilege goal of limiting the room to those who need it. Choice A is incorrect. Open access is the opposite of least privilege and is the weakness the manager is trying to fix. Choice B is incorrect. Letting individual keyholders decide who else may enter spreads access informally and undermines a consistent need-to-enter rule. Choice C is incorrect. Labeling files by sensitivity is a data-classification step, not a model for who is authorized to open the door.

Question 2. The cleaning crew is given a copy of the room key. Which change best applies the principle of least privilege here?

• A) Give the cleaning crew a single master key to every room in the whole office so that they carry only one key
• B) Keep on giving the crew the records-room key but simply ask them politely not to touch any files
• C) Have a keyholding employee admit and accompany the crew for trash removal instead of issuing a key ✓
• D) Stop having anyone empty the records-room trash at all so the cleaning crew never needs to enter

Explanation: Choice C is correct. The crew needs to remove trash, not unsupervised standing access to closing files; having a keyholder admit and accompany them gives just enough access for the task and keeps entry attributable. Choice A is incorrect. A master key vastly expands the crew's access and worsens the least-privilege problem rather than fixing it. Choice B is incorrect. A verbal request does not remove the standing access a copied key grants, so the underlying over-permission remains. Choice D is incorrect. Refusing to empty the trash is an unnecessary disruption when supervised access solves the problem.

Question 3. Which change would most improve the office's ability to hold a specific person accountable for entering the room?

• A) Repaint the records-room door and post a clearly worded Restricted Area warning sign beside it
• B) Replace the key lock with badge entry that records each badge and time, plus a signed visitor log ✓
• C) Add a second physical key lock in series on the same door so that two separate keys are required
• D) Relocate the records room to a higher floor that is farther away from the building's public entrance

Explanation: Choice B is correct. A badge reader that logs each entry by badge and time, paired with a signed visitor log, ties every entry to an identifiable person and is the core of accountability. Choice A is incorrect. Signage may deter casually but records nothing and does not attribute entries. Choice C is incorrect. A second key lock still uses shared, unlogged keys, so it adds friction without identifying who entered. Choice D is incorrect. Relocating the room does not create any record of who goes in.

Question 4. After badge entry is installed, which review activity would most directly help the office detect misuse of the records room?

• A) Periodically review the badge entry log for access outside business hours or by unexpected badges ✓
• B) Count the number of closing files left sitting on the records-room shelves at the start of each day
• C) Ask employees once a year in a survey whether they have ever misused their records-room access keys
• D) Check each morning only that the records-room door is still physically locked and has not been forced

Explanation: Choice A is correct. Reviewing the entry log for unusual timing or unexpected badge holders turns the recorded data into actual detection of possible misuse. Choice B is incorrect. A daily file count might reveal a missing file but not who accessed the room or when, so it is weak for detecting misuse. Choice C is incorrect. A yearly self-report relies on the offender to volunteer wrongdoing and is not a reliable detection method. Choice D is incorrect. Confirming the door is locked checks the control's state but reveals nothing about who entered or when.

Question 5. Considering the whole write-up, which combination of changes most completely moves the room toward least privilege and accountability?

• A) Add a visitor log only, while leaving the office's shared physical keys exactly the way they are now
• B) Buy a stronger lock for the door and remind the staff to be careful about who they let into the room
• C) Issue every single employee in the office their own key so that nobody ever has to wait for file access
• D) Limit keys to role-based staff, accompany and log all visitors, and track each file removal by sign-out ✓

Explanation: Choice D is correct. Restricting access to the roles that need it, escorting and logging visitors, and recording file removals together enforce least privilege and make both entry and file handling attributable. Choice A is incorrect. A visitor log alone leaves the shared, unrestricted keys and untracked files unaddressed. Choice B is incorrect. A stronger lock on a shared, unlogged key does not narrow who has access or record entries. Choice C is incorrect. Giving everyone a key maximizes access and is the opposite of least privilege.