Separation of Duties

5 minutes 5 Questions

Separation of Duties (SoD) is a security principle that divides a critical or sensitive task among multiple individuals to prevent fraud or unauthorized activities. SoD reduces the risk of a single individual having too much control, access, or influence within a system or process, which could lead to them initiating or concealing malicious activities. This principle is often used in financial systems, human resources, and other areas where unauthorized actions could have severe consequences or result in fraud. SoD can be enforced through a variety of methods, including dual controls, where two or more individuals must approve a transaction, or through the implementation of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) which assigns access permissions based on an individual's role.

Guide: Understanding Separation of Duties Concept - CISSP Access Control

The concept of Separation of Duties is a critical access control principle for maintaining security in any system.
What is it:
Separation of duties (SoD) is a fundamental concept of internal controls which aims to prevent fraud and errors by ensuring that at least two individuals are responsible for separate parts of any task or operation.
Importance:
The main objective is to prevent one person from having too much power or influence within an organization, which is crucial for preventing fraud, error, abuse, and other security risks.
How it Works:
In an organization, it involves dividing responsibilities and tasks among different employees or system components to ensure no one individual or module has full control over a critical process or system.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Separation of Duties
In an examination context, when responding to questions on Separation of Duties, be sure to:
- Understand the concept and its importance
- Not confuse it with 'least privilege'
- Remember that its primary aim is to prevent abuse of power or fraud
- Recognize real-world situations where it’s used
- Know that it applies to both process and technology controls Hope this guide is helpful in preparing you for any questions related to the concept of Separation of Duties in your exams.

Test mode:

Exam (Timed)

Practice (With explanations)

Start practice test

Question 1

A network administrator manages the users, creates accounts and assigns permissions. The company decides to enforce the separation of duties. Which solution is best suited?

Assign the task of creating accounts to HR and managing permissions to the IT manager Allow the network administrator to create accounts but not manage permissions Allow the network administrator to manage permissions but not create accounts Assign all tasks to the system administrator

Correct Answer: Assign the task of creating accounts to HR and managing permissions to the IT manager

The goal is to separate critical tasks to prevent collusion and fraud. By assigning account creation to HR and permission management to the IT manager, no single person has complete control over the entire process.

Question 2

A payroll team member is responsible for processing payments in a small organization. How should separation of duties be implemented?

Outsource some of the payroll tasks to a third-party provider Allow the employee to process all payments, but assign a supervisor to randomly check transactions Divide tasks between employees who initiate the payroll process and those who approve and distribute funds Have two employees jointly initiate the payroll process and approve payments

Correct Answer: Divide tasks between employees who initiate the payroll process and those who approve and distribute funds

By dividing tasks between those who initiate the payroll process and those who approve and distribute funds, separation of duties is achieved, reducing the risk of mismanagement or fraud.

Question 3

A financial company employee processes transactions and checks account balances. The company wants to implement separation of duties. What is the most secure solution?

Bring in a third-party monitor to check account balances Let all employees have joint responsibility for the process Allow only the employee's manager to check account balances Split the tasks between two employees - one processes transactions and another checks account balances

Correct Answer: Split the tasks between two employees - one processes transactions and another checks account balances

By splitting the tasks between two employees, the responsibilities for processing transactions and verifying account balances are separated, decreasing the likelihood of fraud or collusion.

Go Premium