What Sensitive Information Should Be Scrubbed from Job Postings?
Short answer
B Software versions
Question
Key Takeaways
The question tests operational security (OpSec) and open-source intelligence (OSINT) awareness, trapping candidates who prioritize personal identification data over technical reconnaissance vectors.
This Security+ question evaluates how organizations protect against unintentional data leaks through public-facing documents like job postings. The community consensus emphasizes that disclosing software versions poses a greater operational security risk than other listed items, as it reveals exploitable system vulnerabilities.
Common mistake: Candidates frequently select Government Identification Numbers due to their association with identity theft and high sensitivity, failing to recognize that such data rarely appears in job advertisements and does not directly expose corporate infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Expert Analysis
Core Concept: Operational Security & OSINT
This question focuses on Operational Security (OpSec) and mitigating Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) threats. Organizations must regularly audit public materials to prevent attackers from gathering actionable intelligence.
Why Option B is Correct
Revealing software versions in job postings or internal documentation provides threat actors with critical reconnaissance data. Attackers routinely cross-reference disclosed versions with public Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) databases to identify unpatched systems. As noted in community discussions, posting these details effectively hands attackers a roadmap to exploit known weaknesses, making it a primary target for security reviews.
Why Other Options Are Incorrect
- Government Identification Numbers: While highly sensitive personally identifiable information (PII), these numbers are almost never included in corporate job postings. Their absence makes them irrelevant to this specific scenario.
- Office Addresses & Board Member Lists: These are standard public business disclosures required for regulatory compliance and corporate transparency. They do not constitute sensitive security information that would compromise the organization's defensive posture.
Community Insights
The voting split between B and D reflects a common test-taking dilemma. Supporters of D correctly identify the sensitivity of government IDs but overlook the contextual clue that job postings focus on corporate roles, not individual employee credentials. CompTIA consistently prioritizes answers that address systemic infrastructure risks over isolated PII concerns in this objective domain.
Official Reference
- https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-37/rev-2/final
- https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/ta19-179a
These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
When analyzing scenarios involving public information exposure, always weigh the likelihood of the data appearing in the given context against its potential to enable attacker reconnaissance. Favor answers that highlight systemic vulnerabilities or attack surface expansion over isolated personal data, as CompTIA heavily tests proactive threat modeling and operational security principles.
Community Votes
64% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Discussion 5 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 5
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1f2b013 👍 6 Answered BWhen reviewing job postings, an analyst is most likely looking for information that could inadvertently expose the company's vulnerabilities or security posture. Posting software versions could reveal outdated or vulnerable systems, which attackers might exploit.
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ProudFather 👍 2 Answered DAn analyst reviewing job postings for sensitive company information would be most concerned about the disclosure of Government Identification Numbers. These numbers are highly sensitive and can be misused for identity theft and fraud. Here's why other options are less critical: A. Office addresses: While generally not considered highly confidential, publicly disclosing office addresses could potentially aid in physical security assessments or social engineering attacks. B. Software versions: Software versions are often publicly available and not considered highly sensitive. C. List of board members: While information about board members is generally public, disclosing this information in job postings might not be the company's standard practice. Therefore, the disclosure of Government Identification Numbers in job postings poses the highest risk of sensitive data leakage.
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MarysSon 👍 1 Answered DD is the better answer. Government identification numbers fall under sensitive data because some ID numbers can be misused as a launchpad for attacks. Software version numbers are typically public information. If a company is concerned about a vulnerability in a software version, it should be patched, upgraded, or replaced.
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9149f41 👍 1 Answered BThe Gov ID number usually never appears in the job ad. So this is not relevant with questions. However, the software version contains sensitive data.
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Eracle 👍 1 Answered DGovernment Identification Numbers are more sensibile data than others.
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