CompTIA Security+ Practice Test of the Day 260426

Welcome to today’s CompTIA Security+ practice test!

This practice test uses our new UI!

Today’s practice test is based on Subdomain 1.2 (Summarize fundamental security concepts) from the CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 objectives.

This beginner-level practice test is inspired by the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) exam and is designed to help you reinforce key cybersecurity concepts on a daily basis.

These questions are not official exam questions, nor are they brain dumps, but they reflect topics and scenarios relevant to the Security+ certification. Use them to test your knowledge, identify areas for improvement, and build daily cybersecurity habits.

Note: CompTIA and Security+ are registered trademarks of CompTIA. This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA.

To choose CompTIA Security+ practice tests based on specific domains/subdomains, click that link.

CompTIA Security+ Practice Test of the Day 260426

10 questions • Single best answer

Question 1

A software engineer at a government contractor discovers that a critical configuration file used by an air traffic management system was modified without any authorized change request. The file appears functional, but several values inside differ slightly from what was documented during the last audit cycle. The security team is called in to assess which security property was violated and what preventive controls should be implemented going forward. Which CIA property was MOST directly violated in this scenario?

A. Confidentiality B. Availability C. Non-repudiation D. Integrity

Question 2

A financial services firm processes thousands of wire transfers daily through an internal web portal. After a series of disputes in which employees claimed they never approved specific high-value transactions, the legal team determines the organization cannot definitively prove who authorized each transfer. The security architect is tasked with implementing a control that ensures employees cannot later deny having approved a transaction they actually submitted. Which security concept would MOST directly address this requirement?

A. Confidentiality B. Authorization C. Non-repudiation D. Integrity

Question 3

During a security audit at a regional hospital network, an auditor reviews the identity and access management system. She finds that all nurses are required to present a smart card and PIN to log in, correctly verifying their identity each time. However, several nurses have read and write access to patient billing records that are entirely unrelated to their clinical responsibilities. The system authenticates users correctly but does not properly restrict what they can do after login. Which component of the AAA framework is MOST likely misconfigured in this environment?

A. Authentication B. Accounting C. Authorization D. Non-repudiation

Question 4

A cloud architect is redesigning access controls for a multinational corporation after a breach where an attacker who compromised a low-privileged internal account moved laterally to sensitive systems. The new architecture evaluates every access request dynamically regardless of network location, with decisions made by a central Policy Engine. When a user attempts to access a resource, a specific component is responsible for receiving the access decision from the Policy Engine and either allowing or blocking the connection in real time. Which Zero Trust component performs this enforcement function?

A. Policy Administrator B. Control Plane C. Policy Engine D. Policy Enforcement Point

Question 5

The CISO of a regional hospital system has engaged a security consulting firm to prepare for an upcoming HIPAA audit. The consultants document the organization's existing technical controls, administrative policies, and physical safeguards, then compare that current state against the specific requirements defined in the HIPAA Security Rule. The resulting report identifies twelve areas where the hospital's current practices fall short of what is required, along with recommended remediation steps for each shortfall. What formal process did the consultants use to produce this report?

A. Penetration testing B. Vulnerability scanning C. Gap analysis D. Risk assessment

Question 6

A new corporate headquarters building is being designed with a requirement that no unauthorized individual can enter the secure executive floor by tailgating an authorized employee. The physical security team recommends installing a structure at the floor's single entry point that uses two interlocked doors: the first must fully close and lock before the second door can be opened, ensuring that only one individual passes through at a time. Which physical security control does this design describe?

A. Bollard B. Fencing C. Access control vestibule D. Security guard station

Question 7

A threat hunter at a technology company wants to detect whether unauthorized users are browsing internal file shares for sensitive information. She creates a realistic-looking document titled 'Q4_Acquisition_Strategy_CONFIDENTIAL.docx' and places it in a directory where legitimate users have no reason to look, but an intruder browsing for sensitive data would likely find it. The document contains a tracking beacon that fires an alert the moment the file is opened. Which type of deception technology BEST describes this approach?

A. Honeypot B. Honeynet C. Honeytoken D. Honeyfile

Question 8

An enterprise security architect is deploying a Zero Trust architecture for a company with a hybrid workforce of office employees and remote contractors. The system is configured to evaluate not just a user's credentials but also their device health, geographic location, time of access, and recent behavioral patterns before allowing access. Users who exhibit access patterns that deviate from their baseline — such as logging in from a new country at an unusual hour — are prompted for step-up authentication before access is granted. Which Zero Trust Control Plane concept does this dynamic evaluation model represent?

A. Implicit trust zones B. Policy Enforcement Point C. Threat scope reduction D. Adaptive identity

Question 9

A facilities security manager at a data center is evaluating sensor technologies for a newly designated restricted area. The requirement specifies that the sensor must detect human presence in complete darkness, cannot rely on sound or vibration, and must remain operational during a power failure to the lighting system. The area has no ambient light sources and the sensor must trigger an alert when a person is present in the hallway without being seen by them. Which type of sensor BEST meets these requirements?

A. Pressure sensor B. Ultrasonic sensor C. Microwave sensor D. Infrared sensor

Question 10

A healthcare IT team is investigating a potential insider threat after a nurse is suspected of improperly accessing the records of a high-profile patient. Investigators need to reconstruct exactly which records the nurse accessed, at what time each access occurred, and what actions — such as viewing, printing, or modifying — were taken on each record. The security team retrieves logs from the identity and access management system to build a complete timeline of the nurse's activity over the past 30 days. Which component of the AAA framework does this log review process rely upon?