thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Foundational

Accountability

The ability to trace actions on a system to a unique, authenticated identity.

Definition

Accountability ensures individuals can be held responsible for their actions. It requires unique identification, strong authentication, and accurate, protected audit logs. Shared or generic accounts undermine accountability because actions cannot be tied to one person.

Example

Requiring named admin accounts instead of a shared 'root' login lets auditors see exactly who changed a firewall rule.

Exam tip

Accountability depends on auditing plus unique identification; logs alone are not enough if accounts are shared.

Related terms