IIBA IIBA-CCA - Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis (CCA)

Unauthorized access to data is the defining condition of a data breach. In standard cybersecurity terminology, a breach occurs when confidentiality is compromised—meaning data is accessed, acquired, viewed, or exfiltrated by an entity that is not authorized to do so. This is distinct from a “threat,” which is only the potential for harm, and distinct from a “hacker,” which describes an actor rather than the security outcome. A breach can result from external attackers, malicious insiders, credential theft, misconfigurations, unpatched vulnerabilities, or poor access controls. Cybersecurity guidance typically frames breaches as realized security incidents with measurable impact: exposure of regulated data, loss of intellectual property, fraud risk, reputational harm, and legal/regulatory consequences. Once unauthorized access is confirmed, incident response procedures generally require containment (limit further access), preservation of evidence (logs, system images where appropriate), eradication (remove persistence), and recovery (restore secure operations). Organizations also assess scope—what data types were accessed, how many records, which systems, and the dwell time—and then determine notification obligations where laws or contracts apply. In short, the discovery describes an actual compromise of data confidentiality, which is precisely a breach.

Directory management is important because it provides a centralized way to define identities, groups, roles, and permissions, which directly determines who can access network resources. In most enterprises, directory services store user and service accounts and then integrate with file servers, applications, email platforms, VPN, and cloud services. This integration enables consistent enforcement of authorization rules such as group-based access to shared folders and files, role-based access control, and least privilege. Option D captures this core security purpose: directory management is a foundational control mechanism for governing access to networked resources.

From a cybersecurity controls perspective, directory management supports secure onboarding and offboarding, ensuring that new users receive only appropriate permissions and that departing users are disabled promptly to reduce insider and external risk. It also strengthens authentication by enabling enterprise-wide policies such as password rules, account lockouts, multi-factor authentication integration, and conditional access. In addition, centralized directories improve auditability: administrators can review memberships and entitlements, monitor privileged group changes, and generate logs that support investigations and compliance reporting.

The other options are either too broad or not primarily about directory management. While directories help protect confidential information indirectly, their direct function is not “preventing outside agents” by itself; it is enforcing access rules. They also do not manage all application security through one interface, and preventing outsiders from knowing employee personal information is a privacy objective, not the main purpose of directory management.

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