cert
cert-1
cert-2

Pass Isaca CISA Exam in First Attempt Guaranteed!

Get 100% Latest Exam Questions, Accurate & Verified Answers to Pass the Actual Exam!
30 Days Free Updates, Instant Download!

cert-5
cert-6
CISA Exam - Verified By Experts
CISA Premium Bundle
$29.98

CISA Premium Bundle

$79.99
$109.97
  • Premium File 1097 Questions & Answers. Last update: Nov 13, 2026
  • Training Course 74 Video Lectures
  • Study Guide 1141 Pages
 
$109.97
$79.99
accept 70 downloads in last 7 days
block-screenshots
Purchase Isaca CISA Exam Training Products Individually
Isaca CISA Premium File
Premium File 1097 Q&A
$76.99$69.99
Isaca CISA Video Training Course
Training Course 74 Lectures
$21.99 $19.99
Isaca CISA PDF Study Guide
Study Guide 1141 Pages
$21.99 $19.99
Isaca CISA Practice Test 15

Question 140

An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A regional business copies a global security baseline but has no documented exceptions for local privacy restrictions. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?

  1. Recommend a risk-based framework mapping with accountable control owners and periodic review.
  2. Recommend restricted emergency access with independent after-use review and periodic exercises.
  3. Recommend approved controlled testing with coordinated incident-response safeguards.
  4. Recommend an approved localization and compensating-control process with centralized oversight.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Recommend an approved localization and compensating-control process with centralized oversight. The relevant control principle is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Recommend a risk-based framework mapping with accountable control owners and periodic review. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A technology subsidiary adopts a security checklist that cannot be traced to its enterprise risk appetite or legal obligations. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an approved localization and compensating-control process with centralized oversight. The governing distinction is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.

B:

Recommend restricted emergency access with independent after-use review and periodic exercises. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Emergency administrator accounts are exempt from monitoring and are never tested until an outage. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an approved localization and compensating-control process with centralized oversight. The governing distinction is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.

C:

Recommend approved controlled testing with coordinated incident-response safeguards. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A penetration test exercises production authentication without authorization or a recovery plan. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an approved localization and compensating-control process with centralized oversight. The governing distinction is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.

Question 141

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A transaction platform runs at high average CPU and has no measured headroom for seasonal spikes. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom.
  2. A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target.
  3. Active licenses, contract costs and actual deployments agree within documented exceptions.
  4. The recovery sequence reflects validated criticality and maximum tolerable disruption.

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom. It addresses systems availability and capacity management. Underlying audit concern: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.

Incorrect Answers

B:

A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A redundant web cluster shares one DNS resolver and becomes inaccessible when that resolver fails. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom. The governing distinction is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.

C:

Active licenses, contract costs and actual deployments agree within documented exceptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company continues paying software maintenance for applications deleted during a consolidation. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom. The governing distinction is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.

D:

The recovery sequence reflects validated criticality and maximum tolerable disruption. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuity plan treats a rarely used test portal and a critical emergency dispatch system as equally urgent. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom. The governing distinction is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.

Question 142

An IS auditor evaluates this situation: Privileged database administrators routinely use shared root credentials without individual attribution. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?

  1. Access reviews require knowledgeable business ownership of authorization decisions.
  2. Data loss controls should be tied to classification, legitimate purpose and authorized exfiltration paths.
  3. Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege.
  4. Monitoring reliability requires completeness, heartbeat and sensor-health validation.

Explanation

Correct Answer

C:

Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect privileged session logs, account ownership, vault configuration and duties.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Access reviews require knowledgeable business ownership of authorization decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A quarterly access certification is completed by a system administrator who cannot identify the employees' current business responsibilities. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege. The governing distinction is: Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege.

B:

Data loss controls should be tied to classification, legitimate purpose and authorized exfiltration paths. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A customer service portal allows employees to export unrestricted copies of all customer identity documents. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege. The governing distinction is: Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege.

D:

Monitoring reliability requires completeness, heartbeat and sensor-health validation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An endpoint dashboard displays every system as healthy even though remote devices have stopped forwarding telemetry. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege. The governing distinction is: Privileged access should be individually attributable and constrained by least privilege.

Question 143

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A payroll system uses post-payment anomaly reports but has no approval requirement for changing bank accounts. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. An attempted single-user dual approval is blocked and the two identities appear in audit evidence.
  2. Confirmed duplicates and legitimate reversals are separately documented and reproducible.
  3. The approved plan allocates coverage and audit hours in line with documented material risk.
  4. A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates. It addresses types of controls and considerations. Underlying audit concern: Detective review does not automatically replace an effective preventive authorization control.

Incorrect Answers

A:

An attempted single-user dual approval is blocked and the two identities appear in audit evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new security control requires two operators to approve destructive data deletion, but both approvals can use one shared account. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates. The governing distinction is: Detective review does not automatically replace an effective preventive authorization control.

B:

Confirmed duplicates and legitimate reversals are separately documented and reproducible. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor flags duplicated supplier invoices by invoice number alone and ignores vendor identifiers and credit notes. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates. The governing distinction is: Detective review does not automatically replace an effective preventive authorization control.

C:

The approved plan allocates coverage and audit hours in line with documented material risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The annual audit plan gives equal effort to a low-risk intranet and a newly acquired payment processing platform. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates. The governing distinction is: Detective review does not automatically replace an effective preventive authorization control.

Question 144

Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An IT inventory lists hundreds of production servers without owners or support end dates. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?

  1. Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status.
  2. Inspect connector permissions, transferred fields, approval records and process ownership.
  3. Map live transactions through compute, middleware, database, network and shared dependencies.
  4. Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records.

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status. The governing principle is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Inspect connector permissions, transferred fields, approval records and process ownership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A department builds a low-code workflow that sends customer data to an unknown external connector. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

C:

Map live transactions through compute, middleware, database, network and shared dependencies. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payment service uses a load balancer, two application servers and one database but its diagram lists only the web servers as critical. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

D:

Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A retail chain replaces laptops but leaves decommissioned drives untracked with a disposal contractor. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

Question 145

An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A planned analytics launch relies on one database specialist who has no trained backup. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?

  1. Escalate interpretation to the authorized legal owner and align the retention policy accordingly.
  2. Recommend cross-training and documented alternate coverage for critical operations.
  3. Recommend governed capacity reallocation or documented justification for new procurement.
  4. Recommend reassessing impact and escalating acceptance above delegated limits.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Recommend cross-training and documented alternate coverage for critical operations. The relevant control principle is: Critical skill dependencies should be addressed in resource and continuity planning. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A qualified alternate performs a representative critical task without the primary specialist.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Escalate interpretation to the authorized legal owner and align the retention policy accordingly. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The legal team interprets a contractual data retention clause differently from IT's automatic deletion schedule. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend cross-training and documented alternate coverage for critical operations. The governing distinction is: Critical skill dependencies should be addressed in resource and continuity planning.

C:

Recommend governed capacity reallocation or documented justification for new procurement. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An infrastructure team buys additional servers while idle compatible capacity remains unallocated in another business unit. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend cross-training and documented alternate coverage for critical operations. The governing distinction is: Critical skill dependencies should be addressed in resource and continuity planning.

D:

Recommend reassessing impact and escalating acceptance above delegated limits. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A department labels a customer outage risk acceptable because its probability is low without evaluating financial impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend cross-training and documented alternate coverage for critical operations. The governing distinction is: Critical skill dependencies should be addressed in resource and continuity planning.

Question 146

Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A retail chain replaces laptops but leaves decommissioned drives untracked with a disposal contractor. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?

  1. Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status.
  2. Inspect connector permissions, transferred fields, approval records and process ownership.
  3. Inspect route tables, protocol dependencies, vendor support and test evidence.
  4. Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records. The governing principle is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An IT inventory lists hundreds of production servers without owners or support end dates. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records. The governing distinction is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.

B:

Inspect connector permissions, transferred fields, approval records and process ownership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A department builds a low-code workflow that sends customer data to an unknown external connector. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records. The governing distinction is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.

C:

Inspect route tables, protocol dependencies, vendor support and test evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A network router is upgraded without identifying the legacy protocol needed by an older warehouse controller. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile asset tags, chain-of-custody receipts, data classification and destruction records. The governing distinction is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.

Question 147

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A department labels a customer outage risk acceptable because its probability is low without evaluating financial impact. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. Verified storage locations and downstream contracts align with permitted processing.
  2. Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation.
  3. The risk record identifies an authorized owner, action, due date and monitored residual risk.
  4. Procurement decisions cite capacity forecasts and approved constraints rather than assumptions.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation. It addresses enterprise risk management. Underlying audit concern: Risk decisions must consider both likelihood and impact against appetite and tolerance.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Verified storage locations and downstream contracts align with permitted processing. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A subcontractor stores confidential records in a region excluded by the prime provider's contract. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation. The governing distinction is: Risk decisions must consider both likelihood and impact against appetite and tolerance.

C:

The risk record identifies an authorized owner, action, due date and monitored residual risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A risk register identifies unpatched critical servers but assigns the mitigation decision to the auditor. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation. The governing distinction is: Risk decisions must consider both likelihood and impact against appetite and tolerance.

D:

Procurement decisions cite capacity forecasts and approved constraints rather than assumptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An infrastructure team buys additional servers while idle compatible capacity remains unallocated in another business unit. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation. The governing distinction is: Risk decisions must consider both likelihood and impact against appetite and tolerance.

Question 148

Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A supplier SLA measures network interface uptime while the business requires successful customer transactions. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?

  1. Review vulnerability severity, exposed assets, patch schedules and documented deferrals.
  2. Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves.
  3. Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies.
  4. Review service boundaries, dependency maps and sample unresolved multivendor incidents.

Explanation

Correct Answer

C:

Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies. The governing principle is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Review vulnerability severity, exposed assets, patch schedules and documented deferrals. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A security patch is applied on test servers but production remains vulnerable for months without risk approval. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies. The governing distinction is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.

B:

Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A transaction platform runs at high average CPU and has no measured headroom for seasonal spikes. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies. The governing distinction is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.

D:

Review service boundaries, dependency maps and sample unresolved multivendor incidents. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal support agreement omits escalation responsibilities for incidents spanning two suppliers. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies. The governing distinction is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.

Question 149

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A new acquisition builds duplicate identity and messaging platforms without considering existing enterprise capabilities. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. Approved architecture records explain shared or separated platforms and their tradeoffs.
  2. Cross-system records reconcile to approved definitions and downstream errors decline.
  3. Data samples reflect the approved retention decision without unapproved loss or overretention.
  4. Downstream consumers use a documented authoritative source with measured consistency.

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Approved architecture records explain shared or separated platforms and their tradeoffs. It addresses enterprise architecture and considerations. Underlying audit concern: Enterprise architecture should document target capabilities and integration or rationalization decisions.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Cross-system records reconcile to approved definitions and downstream errors decline. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Different departments adopt incompatible master-data formats for the same customer identifier. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Approved architecture records explain shared or separated platforms and their tradeoffs. The governing distinction is: Enterprise architecture should document target capabilities and integration or rationalization decisions.

C:

Data samples reflect the approved retention decision without unapproved loss or overretention. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The legal team interprets a contractual data retention clause differently from IT's automatic deletion schedule. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Approved architecture records explain shared or separated platforms and their tradeoffs. The governing distinction is: Enterprise architecture should document target capabilities and integration or rationalization decisions.

D:

Downstream consumers use a documented authoritative source with measured consistency. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Multiple business units publish different values for the same customer account status without a nominated data steward. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Approved architecture records explain shared or separated platforms and their tradeoffs. The governing distinction is: Enterprise architecture should document target capabilities and integration or rationalization decisions.

Question 150

An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An IT inventory lists hundreds of production servers without owners or support end dates. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?

  1. Software asset records must reconcile acquisitions, deployment, retirement and entitlements.
  2. Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.
  3. Infrastructure health alone does not represent availability of external service dependencies.
  4. Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Software asset records must reconcile acquisitions, deployment, retirement and entitlements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company continues paying software maintenance for applications deleted during a consolidation. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

C:

Infrastructure health alone does not represent availability of external service dependencies. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud-hosted application has healthy virtual machines but customer logins fail when its external identity service is unavailable. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

D:

Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A supplier SLA measures network interface uptime while the business requires successful customer transactions. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) Practice Tests