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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · The impact of advances in technology

A firm's security team notes that an attacker used the stolen credentials of a finance clerk to access the payroll system, then altered bank details for several employees. Which combination of controls would BEST both prevent the initial unauthorised access and limit the damage if credentials are stolen?

Multi-factor authentication combined with role-based, least-privilege access is best. The first stops stolen credentials alone from granting entry, and the second restricts what a compromised clerk account can change. The other combinations weaken accountability, protect only backups, or remove detective logging.

  1. AMulti-factor authentication and role-based access restricting the clerk's permissionsCorrect
  2. BA longer password expiry period and shared logins for the finance team
  3. CEncryption of the payroll database backups and a larger disk capacity
  4. DAn annual staff newsletter on security and removal of audit logs

Explanation

Multi-factor authentication makes stolen passwords alone insufficient, preventing entry. Role-based access applying least privilege limits what a compromised account can do, such as changing bank details. Shared logins and longer expiry weaken accountability, backup encryption does not stop live misuse, and removing audit logs reduces detection.

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