OCPS Payroll Software Systems & Security Protocols 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which encryption standard is most commonly recommended for protecting payroll data at rest in modern payroll systems?
- DES-56
- AES-256 (Correct answer)
- MD5
- SHA-1
Correct answer: AES-256
AES-256 is the industry-standard encryption algorithm recommended for protecting sensitive payroll data at rest.
Question 2: In a cloud-based payroll system, what is the primary purpose of multi-factor authentication (MFA)?
- To speed up the login process
- To add an extra layer of identity verification beyond a password (Correct answer)
- To eliminate the need for usernames
- To encrypt payroll data during transmission
Correct answer: To add an extra layer of identity verification beyond a password
MFA requires users to provide two or more verification factors, reducing the risk of unauthorized access even if a password is compromised.
Question 3: What is a 'data breach notification' requirement in the context of payroll systems?
- Alerting employees of their paycheck deposits
- Legally required disclosure to affected individuals when their personal data is compromised (Correct answer)
- Notifying the IRS of payroll tax filings
- Sending wage statements to employees annually
Correct answer: Legally required disclosure to affected individuals when their personal data is compromised
Data breach notification laws require organizations to inform affected individuals and often regulators when sensitive personal data has been improperly accessed or disclosed.
Question 4: Which payroll system feature ensures that no single employee can both approve and process a payroll run?
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Segregation of duties (SOD) (Correct answer)
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Data masking
Correct answer: Segregation of duties (SOD)
Segregation of duties prevents fraud and errors by ensuring critical payroll functions are divided among different employees.
Question 5: When a payroll system logs all user actions including logins, data changes, and report generation, this is called:
- Data archiving
- An audit trail (Correct answer)
- A payroll register
- A reconciliation report
Correct answer: An audit trail
An audit trail records all system activities, providing a chronological record that can be reviewed to detect unauthorized changes or errors.
Question 6: What does 'role-based access control' (RBAC) mean in payroll software?
- All users have identical access to payroll data
- User permissions are granted based on their job function (Correct answer)
- Access is determined by employee seniority
- Managers can access all payroll records without restriction
Correct answer: User permissions are granted based on their job function
RBAC restricts system access so employees only see and modify data relevant to their specific job responsibilities.
Question 7: A payroll system that automatically backs up data every 24 hours is implementing which type of disaster recovery strategy?
- Hot standby
- Scheduled incremental backup (Correct answer)
- Cold failover
- Manual archiving
Correct answer: Scheduled incremental backup
Scheduled incremental or full backups at regular intervals protect payroll data and allow restoration in the event of system failure or data loss.
OCPS Payroll Software Systems & Security Protocols 2
Which encryption standard is most commonly recommended for protecting payroll data at rest in modern payroll systems?