Isaca CRISC Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control Exam Dumps and Practice Test Questions Set 6 Q76 — 90
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Question 76
An organization discovers that a critical vendor has experienced a data breach. What should be the FIRST step in the risk response process?
A) Terminate the vendor contract immediately
B) Assess the potential impact to the organization
C) Implement additional security controls
D) Notify regulatory authorities
Answer: B
Explanation:
Assessing the potential impact to the organization represents the critical first step when learning about a vendor data breach because effective risk response requires understanding the actual exposure before taking action. The assessment determines what data the vendor had access to, whether any organizational data was compromised, what systems or processes are affected, and the magnitude of potential harm to the organization’s operations, reputation, and compliance posture.
The impact assessment process examines multiple dimensions including what types of data the vendor possessed, whether that data was involved in the breach, how the data was protected, what business processes depend on the vendor, whether the breach affects service availability, and what contractual obligations exist regarding breach notification and liability. This analysis provides the foundation for determining appropriate response actions proportionate to the actual risk exposure.
Understanding impact enables informed decision-making about response priorities. If the assessment reveals the vendor only had access to non-sensitive information that was not compromised, the response will differ dramatically from scenarios where customer personal data or trade secrets were exposed. The assessment also identifies what internal systems or processes might be compromised if vendor credentials or access mechanisms were involved in the breach.
Terminating the vendor contract immediately may not be feasible if the vendor provides critical services, and may not be necessary if impact is minimal. Implementing additional controls should follow impact understanding to ensure controls address actual risks. Regulatory notification may be required but depends on understanding what data was compromised and whether notification thresholds are met. Only assessing potential impact provides the information foundation needed for effective risk response decision-making.
Question 77
Which of the following is the PRIMARY benefit of conducting regular risk assessments?
A) Eliminating all organizational risks
B) Maintaining current understanding of the risk landscape
C) Reducing audit costs
D) Guaranteeing compliance with regulations
Answer: B
Explanation:
Maintaining current understanding of the risk landscape is the fundamental benefit of regular risk assessments because organizational risk profiles are dynamic and constantly evolving due to changes in technology, business processes, threat environment, regulatory requirements, and organizational objectives. Regular assessments ensure that risk management strategies remain aligned with the current state of risks rather than becoming outdated and ineffective.
The business environment continuously changes through new technology implementations, process modifications, personnel changes, and evolving business strategies. External factors also shift including emerging threats, new attack techniques, changing regulatory requirements, and market conditions. Without regular reassessment, organizations operate with outdated risk understanding that may miss critical new risks or waste resources addressing risks that are no longer relevant.
Regular risk assessments enable proactive risk management by identifying emerging risks before they materialize into incidents. They reveal whether existing controls remain effective as conditions change, whether risk appetite alignment remains appropriate, and whether new vulnerabilities have been introduced through system changes or new business initiatives. This ongoing visibility supports informed decision-making about resource allocation and control investments.
Eliminating all organizational risks is impossible and not a realistic objective. Reducing audit costs may be a secondary benefit but is not the primary purpose. Guaranteeing compliance is not achievable through risk assessments alone as compliance requires implementing and maintaining appropriate controls. While risk assessments support audit efficiency and compliance efforts, only maintaining current understanding of the risk landscape accurately describes the core benefit of enabling organizations to manage risks based on current rather than historical conditions.
Question 78
An organization is implementing a new cloud-based application. What is the MOST important consideration when evaluating associated risks?
A) The cost of the cloud service
B) Data classification and sensitivity
C) The vendor’s marketing materials
D) The number of users
Answer: B
Explanation:
Data classification and sensitivity represents the most important consideration when evaluating cloud application risks because the appropriate security controls, contractual provisions, and risk acceptance decisions fundamentally depend on the nature and value of data being stored or processed in the cloud. Different data types carry different regulatory requirements, business impacts if compromised, and acceptable risk levels that must guide the risk assessment process.
Understanding data classification drives critical decisions about cloud deployment models, encryption requirements, data residency restrictions, access controls, and vendor selection criteria. Highly sensitive data such as customer personal information, payment card data, or trade secrets requires stringent security controls, comprehensive vendor due diligence, and potentially precludes certain cloud deployment options. Less sensitive data may be suitable for public cloud platforms with standard security controls.
Data sensitivity also determines applicable regulatory and compliance requirements. Protected health information requires HIPAA compliance, payment card data requires PCI DSS compliance, and personal data may require GDPR compliance. These regulatory frameworks impose specific security and privacy requirements that must be evaluated against cloud service capabilities. Failure to properly classify data before cloud migration can result in compliance violations and inadequate protection.
Service cost is a business consideration but does not drive risk assessment. Vendor marketing materials are not reliable sources for security evaluation. User count affects licensing and capacity but not fundamental risk considerations. While these factors matter for operational planning, only data classification and sensitivity provides the critical foundation for evaluating whether a cloud service provides appropriate security, meets compliance requirements, and aligns with organizational risk tolerance.
Question 79
Which risk response strategy is MOST appropriate when the cost of controls exceeds the potential loss from the risk?
A) Risk avoidance
B) Risk acceptance
C) Risk mitigation
D) Risk transfer
Answer: B
Explanation:
Risk acceptance is the most appropriate strategy when control costs exceed potential losses because implementing controls in such scenarios represents poor resource allocation that provides negative return on investment. Risk acceptance involves acknowledging the risk exists, understanding its potential impact, and making a conscious decision not to implement controls because the cost-benefit analysis does not justify the expenditure.
The risk acceptance decision should be formal and documented, with explicit acknowledgment from appropriate management levels based on their authority relative to the risk magnitude. Documentation should articulate the risk, quantify potential impacts, explain why controls are not cost-effective, and confirm the decision aligns with organizational risk appetite. This formalized acceptance ensures informed decision-making and creates accountability for risk ownership.
Risk acceptance is particularly appropriate for low-impact, low-likelihood risks where control costs are disproportionate to potential losses. For example, if the maximum potential loss from a risk is five thousand dollars but effective controls would cost fifty thousand dollars annually, acceptance is economically rational. However, acceptance requires ongoing monitoring because risk conditions may change over time, potentially altering the cost-benefit calculation.
Risk avoidance eliminates risks entirely by not engaging in risky activities, but may not be appropriate if the activity provides business value exceeding the risk. Risk mitigation implements controls, which the scenario explicitly indicates is not cost-effective. Risk transfer through insurance or contracts may also be cost-prohibitive for low-value risks. Only risk acceptance appropriately addresses scenarios where control investments exceed potential losses, enabling resources to focus on higher-priority risks with favorable cost-benefit profiles.
Question 80
An organization has identified that its recovery time objective cannot be met with current capabilities. What should be the NEXT step?
A) Accept the risk
B) Evaluate options to improve recovery capabilities
C) Ignore the gap
D) Reduce the RTO requirement
Answer: B
Explanation:
Evaluating options to improve recovery capabilities is the appropriate next step when current capabilities do not meet recovery time objectives because this gap represents unacceptable risk that requires analysis of potential solutions before making risk response decisions. The evaluation examines technical solutions, process improvements, resource investments, and alternative approaches that could enable meeting the RTO requirement.
The evaluation process should identify multiple potential approaches to closing the capability gap including technology investments in high-availability systems, improved backup solutions, disaster recovery site enhancements, process optimizations, staff training, or alternative service delivery models. Each option should be analyzed for feasibility, cost, implementation timeline, and effectiveness in meeting the RTO. This comprehensive evaluation provides decision-makers with information needed to select appropriate solutions.
Understanding available options and their cost-benefit profiles enables informed decisions about whether to invest in improvements, negotiate modified RTOs based on business impact analysis, accept residual risk, or pursue alternative strategies. The evaluation may reveal that meeting the original RTO is technically infeasible or prohibitively expensive, prompting discussion about whether the RTO requirement reflects actual business needs or should be adjusted.
Accepting the risk without evaluating improvement options foregoes potentially viable solutions and may expose the organization to unacceptable business impact. Ignoring the gap represents irresponsible risk management. Reducing RTO requirements without evaluating whether business needs allow such reduction may leave the organization unable to recover critical services within timeframes needed to prevent unacceptable business harm. Only evaluating improvement options provides the analysis foundation needed for informed risk response decisions about RTO gaps.
Question 81
Which of the following BEST describes the relationship between risk appetite and risk tolerance?
A) They are unrelated concepts
B) Risk appetite is the broad amount of risk acceptable, while risk tolerance is acceptable deviation in specific objectives
C) Risk tolerance is always higher than risk appetite
D) They are identical terms
Answer: B
Explanation:
Risk appetite represents the broad, overarching amount of risk an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of its strategic objectives, while risk tolerance describes the acceptable deviation from specific performance objectives or risk thresholds. This hierarchical relationship positions appetite as the strategic framework within which specific tolerances are defined for individual risk categories, business units, or performance metrics.
Risk appetite is typically expressed in qualitative terms or broad quantitative ranges that reflect the organization’s overall philosophy toward risk-taking. For example, an organization might have a conservative risk appetite for operational risks but aggressive appetite for strategic market risks. This high-level statement guides how the organization approaches various business activities and informs resource allocation for risk management.
Risk tolerance translates appetite into specific, measurable thresholds for individual risks or objectives. While appetite might state the organization accepts moderate operational risk, specific tolerances define exact parameters such as maximum acceptable downtime of four hours annually, financial loss threshold of one million dollars per incident, or customer data breach affecting no more than one thousand records. These specific tolerances enable operational risk management and monitoring.
The concepts are clearly related rather than unrelated or identical. Risk tolerance is not always higher than appetite as they operate at different levels of specificity rather than being directly comparable quantities. Understanding this relationship enables organizations to cascade strategic risk appetite into operational risk tolerances that guide day-to-day risk decisions while ensuring alignment with overall risk philosophy and strategic objectives.
Question 82
An organization wants to implement key risk indicators to monitor its risk environment. What is the MOST important characteristic of an effective KRI?
A) It should be difficult to measure
B) It should provide early warning of increasing risk
C) It should only be reviewed annually
D) It should focus on past incidents
Answer: B
Explanation:
Providing early warning of increasing risk represents the most critical characteristic of effective key risk indicators because the fundamental purpose of KRIs is to enable proactive risk management by detecting risk condition changes before they materialize into incidents or losses. Early warning capability allows organizations to take preventive action, adjust controls, or modify business activities to avoid or minimize negative impacts.
Effective KRIs monitor leading indicators that signal potential risk increases rather than lagging indicators that only confirm after incidents occur. For example, increasing numbers of failed login attempts may indicate emerging security threats before actual breaches occur. Rising percentages of unpatched systems signal increasing vulnerability exposure before exploitation. Declining staff training completion rates may predict operational errors before they happen. These forward-looking metrics enable intervention before risk materializes.
KRI effectiveness requires careful selection of metrics that genuinely correlate with risk levels and can trigger when conditions deteriorate. The indicators must be measurable, actionable, and reviewed at appropriate frequencies to enable timely response. Threshold levels should be established that distinguish normal variation from significant risk increases warranting management attention. When KRIs breach thresholds, escalation processes should ensure appropriate stakeholders can take corrective action.
Difficulty in measurement reduces KRI practicality and sustainability. Annual review frequency is too infrequent for dynamic risk environments requiring more frequent monitoring. Focusing on past incidents provides historical context but lacks the forward-looking perspective needed for risk prevention. While these aspects may have some relevance to risk monitoring, only early warning capability fulfills the core purpose of enabling proactive risk management through advance detection of deteriorating risk conditions.
Question 83
Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason for documenting risk assessment results?
A) To satisfy audit requirements only
B) To support risk-based decision making and provide accountability
C) To increase paperwork
D) To avoid conducting future assessments
Answer: B
Explanation:
Supporting risk-based decision making and providing accountability represents the primary reason for documenting risk assessments because documentation creates the information foundation that enables management to make informed choices about risk responses while establishing clear records of what risks were identified, how they were evaluated, and what decisions were made. This documentation serves multiple critical functions beyond mere record-keeping.
Risk assessment documentation provides decision-makers with comprehensive risk information including likelihood and impact assessments, potential consequences, existing control effectiveness, and recommended risk responses. This enables management to evaluate options, allocate resources effectively, and prioritize risks based on organizational objectives and risk appetite. Without documentation, decisions would rely on informal or incomplete information resulting in suboptimal risk management.
Documentation also creates accountability by recording who identified risks, who assessed them, what assumptions were made, what decisions were reached, and who accepted responsibility for risk ownership. This audit trail demonstrates due diligence, supports governance oversight, and enables review of whether risk decisions were appropriate given the information available at the time. It protects against revisionist assessments claiming different decisions should have been made.
Satisfying audit requirements is a benefit but not the primary purpose of documentation. Increasing paperwork is not an objective and suggests bureaucratic waste rather than value creation. Documentation does not eliminate the need for future assessments as risk environments change continuously. While audit compliance and historical records have value, only supporting decision-making and accountability describes the fundamental purpose of creating lasting records that enable effective risk governance and informed risk response decisions.
Question 84
An organization is developing a risk register. What is the MOST important information to include for each identified risk?
A) Only the risk description
B) Risk owner, likelihood, impact, and treatment plan
C) Historical incident data only
D) The date the risk was identified
Answer: B
Explanation:
Including risk owner, likelihood, impact, and treatment plan represents the comprehensive set of critical information elements needed for effective risk management and monitoring. Each element serves specific purposes that collectively enable organizations to understand, prioritize, respond to, and track risks throughout their lifecycle within the risk management framework.
The risk owner identifies the individual or role accountable for monitoring the risk and ensuring risk responses are implemented. Clear ownership prevents risks from being overlooked and ensures someone has responsibility for tracking risk status and escalating when conditions change. Without defined ownership, risks may not receive adequate attention or timely response.
Likelihood and impact assessments enable risk prioritization by quantifying the probability of risk occurrence and the magnitude of potential consequences. This information supports risk ranking to focus resources on the most significant risks. Likelihood and impact also inform appropriate risk response strategies, with different approaches suitable for different risk profiles.
The treatment plan documents what actions will be taken to address the risk, including specific controls to be implemented, timelines for action, resource requirements, and residual risk expectations. This transforms risk identification into actionable risk management by defining concrete steps to reduce risk to acceptable levels. Treatment plans also provide metrics for tracking risk response implementation progress.
Only risk description provides identification but lacks the management information needed for effective risk treatment. Historical incident data adds context but is not the most critical information. Identification date has administrative value but does not support risk analysis or response. Only the combination of owner, likelihood, impact, and treatment plan provides complete information needed for active risk management.
Question 85
Which of the following BEST indicates that risk management practices are mature within an organization?
A) Risk assessments are conducted only when required by auditors
B) Risk management is integrated into business processes and decision-making
C) A risk register exists but is rarely updated
D) Only IT department manages risks
Answer: B
Explanation:
Integration of risk management into business processes and decision-making represents the hallmark of mature risk management practices because it demonstrates that risk consideration has moved beyond compliance exercises to become embedded in how the organization operates. When risk management is integrated, risk assessment naturally occurs as part of project planning, strategic decisions, process changes, and operational activities rather than being separate periodic exercises.
Mature risk management embeds risk thinking throughout organizational culture where employees at all levels consider risk implications in their daily activities. Business cases routinely include risk assessments, project methodologies incorporate risk management phases, change management processes evaluate risk impacts, and procurement decisions consider vendor risks. This integration ensures risk management provides ongoing value rather than producing static documents that gather dust between formal assessments.
Integration also means risk information flows into management decision-making processes. Executives receive risk reports that inform strategic planning, boards consider risk appetite when approving strategies, and operational managers use risk data to prioritize initiatives and allocate resources. Risk metrics appear in balanced scorecards and performance dashboards alongside financial and operational metrics, giving risk visibility equal to other management concerns.
Conducting risk assessments only when auditors require indicates compliance-driven rather than value-driven risk management. Maintaining outdated risk registers suggests risk management is ceremonial rather than operational. Siloing risk management in IT ignores enterprise-wide risks and indicates immature practices. Only integration into business processes and decision-making demonstrates that risk management has evolved from a specialized function into a core organizational capability that influences how work gets done.
Question 86
An organization’s third-party vendor experiences a security incident. What should be the organization’s FIRST priority?
A) Terminate the contract immediately
B) Assess whether organizational data or systems are affected
C) Issue a press release
D) Wait for the vendor to resolve the issue
Answer: B
Explanation:
Assessing whether organizational data or systems are affected must be the immediate priority when a vendor experiences a security incident because the organization needs to understand its own exposure before taking appropriate protective or responsive actions. This assessment determines whether the incident represents merely a vendor problem or an actual threat to organizational assets, operations, or data.
The assessment examines what data the organization shares with the vendor, what access the vendor has to organizational systems, whether the incident compromised vendor credentials that could access organizational resources, whether organizational data was involved in the breach, and what potential impacts exist to organizational operations that depend on vendor services. This rapid evaluation provides the information foundation for urgent response decisions.
Understanding organizational impact drives immediate tactical responses including activating incident response procedures if organizational data was compromised, revoking vendor access credentials if compromise risk exists, implementing compensating controls if vendor services are disrupted, notifying affected parties if required by regulations or contracts, and escalating to appropriate management levels based on impact severity. These urgent actions depend on knowing actual organizational exposure.
Terminating the contract may not be feasible if the vendor provides critical services and may not be necessary if organizational data was not affected. Press releases are premature without understanding impacts and may not be appropriate depending on incident details. Passively waiting ignores potential organizational exposure that requires active protection. Only assessing organizational impact provides the critical information needed to determine what immediate actions are necessary to protect organizational interests when vendors experience security incidents.
Question 87
Which of the following is the BEST method to ensure risk response plans remain effective over time?
A) Never reviewing them after creation
B) Periodic testing and updating based on changes
C) Keeping them confidential from all staff
D) Implementing them once and forgetting them
Answer: B
Explanation:
Periodic testing and updating based on changes represents the essential approach for maintaining risk response plan effectiveness because plans become outdated as organizational conditions, technologies, threats, and business processes evolve. Regular testing validates that plans work as intended while updates ensure plans reflect current reality rather than historical conditions that may no longer apply.
Testing risk response plans through tabletop exercises, simulations, or actual implementation trials reveals gaps, outdated assumptions, undocumented dependencies, or procedural steps that no longer work. Testing also validates that personnel understand their roles, that communication channels function properly, that required resources are available, and that documented response times are achievable. Without testing, organizations cannot know whether plans will function during actual risk events.
Updating plans based on organizational changes ensures continued relevance. Business process changes, technology implementations, personnel turnover, vendor changes, regulatory updates, or lessons learned from incidents may all necessitate plan revisions. Formal change management processes should trigger risk response plan reviews to assess whether changes affect risk conditions or response procedures. Annual or more frequent scheduled reviews catch changes that might otherwise be overlooked.
Never reviewing plans after creation guarantees obsolescence as conditions change. Keeping plans confidential prevents stakeholders from understanding their roles and responsibilities. Implementing once without ongoing validation creates false confidence in untested assumptions. These approaches ensure plans will fail when actually needed. Only periodic testing and updating provides the ongoing validation and maintenance necessary to ensure risk response plans remain accurate, complete, and effective throughout their lifecycle as organizational conditions evolve.
Question 88
What is the PRIMARY purpose of conducting a business impact analysis?
A) To identify IT vulnerabilities
B) To determine critical processes and acceptable downtime
C) To select security controls
D) To perform penetration testing
Answer: B
Explanation:
Determining critical processes and acceptable downtime represents the fundamental purpose of business impact analysis because BIA quantifies the consequences of disruptions to business processes and identifies which processes are most critical to organizational survival and success. This information forms the foundation for business continuity planning, disaster recovery prioritization, and resource allocation for resilience investments.
BIA systematically evaluates each business process to understand its importance to organizational operations, revenue generation, regulatory compliance, and reputation. The analysis identifies dependencies between processes, upstream and downstream impacts of process failures, and time-sensitivity of different processes. Most critically, BIA determines how long each process can be disrupted before unacceptable consequences occur, establishing recovery time objectives that guide continuity planning.
The analysis quantifies financial impacts of disruptions including lost revenue, increased costs, regulatory fines, and contractual penalties. It also assesses qualitative impacts such as reputation damage, customer attrition, competitive disadvantage, and regulatory consequences. By understanding both timeframes and impact magnitudes, organizations can prioritize which processes require the most robust continuity capabilities and which can tolerate longer recovery times.
Identifying IT vulnerabilities is a separate security assessment activity. Selecting security controls follows from risk assessment rather than BIA. Penetration testing is a technical security validation technique. While BIA information may inform these activities, none represent BIA’s primary purpose. Only determining critical processes and acceptable downtime accurately describes BIA’s core function of understanding which business capabilities matter most and how quickly they must be restored following disruptions to minimize unacceptable business harm.
Question 89
An organization discovers that a control it implemented is no longer effective due to a technology change. What should be the FIRST step?
A) Remove the control entirely
B) Reassess the risk and evaluate alternative controls
C) Ignore the situation
D) Implement a different control without analysis
Answer: B
Explanation:
Reassessing the risk and evaluating alternative controls represents the appropriate first response when existing controls become ineffective because this analytical approach ensures the organization understands current risk exposure and identifies effective solutions rather than creating gaps or implementing inappropriate controls. The reassessment determines whether the underlying risk still exists, whether its characteristics have changed, and what control approaches are viable given current technology.
Risk reassessment in light of technology changes examines whether the risk the control addressed still exists with the same likelihood and impact profile. Technology changes may alter risk characteristics, potentially increasing or decreasing risk levels compared to the original assessment. The reassessment also considers whether the technology change introduced new risks that require additional controls beyond replacing the ineffective control.
Evaluating alternative controls identifies options for addressing the current risk given the new technology environment. This evaluation considers compensating controls that achieve risk reduction through different mechanisms, updated versions of the original control compatible with new technology, or fundamentally different control approaches enabled by technology changes. The evaluation weighs effectiveness, cost, operational impact, and implementation feasibility to identify optimal solutions.
Removing the control without replacement may leave significant risk exposure. Ignoring the situation allows risk to remain unmanaged. Implementing different controls without analysis risks choosing ineffective solutions or creating unnecessary operational burden. These approaches represent poor risk management that either accepts excessive risk or wastes resources on inappropriate solutions. Only reassessing risk and evaluating alternatives provides the analytical foundation for selecting effective controls that appropriately manage current risk conditions.
Question 90
Which of the following BEST describes the role of risk culture in an organization?
A) It is irrelevant to risk management
B) It shapes attitudes and behaviors toward risk across the organization
C) It only applies to senior management
D) It focuses exclusively on avoiding all risks
Answer: B
Explanation:
Risk culture shapes attitudes and behaviors toward risk across all organizational levels because culture represents the shared values, beliefs, and norms that influence how employees perceive risks, communicate about risks, and make risk-related decisions in their daily work. Strong risk culture ensures risk management principles are embedded in organizational DNA rather than existing only in policies and procedures.
Risk culture influences whether employees feel comfortable raising concerns about risks they observe, whether they consider risk implications before taking actions, whether they report incidents honestly without fear of punishment, and whether they view risk management as everyone’s responsibility rather than solely a specialized function. Positive risk culture encourages transparency about risks and mistakes, enabling organizational learning and continuous improvement in risk management practices.
Leadership behavior critically influences risk culture through the example set by executives and managers. When leaders consistently consider risk in decisions, allocate resources to risk management, reward risk-aware behavior, and respond constructively to risk events, these actions signal to the organization that risk management truly matters. Conversely, when leaders ignore risk considerations or punish messengers bringing bad news, culture deteriorates regardless of formal policies.
Risk culture is highly relevant rather than irrelevant to effective risk management. It applies to all employees not just senior management as everyone’s decisions and actions affect organizational risk. Healthy risk culture does not focus on avoiding all risks but rather on taking informed, appropriate risks aligned with organizational objectives and risk appetite. Only shaping attitudes and behaviors across the organization accurately describes culture’s pervasive influence on how risk management actually functions in practice versus how policies say it should function.