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Isaca CISA Practice Test 17

Question 160

An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A vendor incident triggers a temporary exception but the residual risk is never reconsidered after six months. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?

  1. Recommend reassessing impact and escalating acceptance above delegated limits.
  2. Recommend a documented deployment and review cycle for the revised standard.
  3. Recommend current entitlement reconciliation before renewal commitments.
  4. Recommend expiry, risk reassessment and owner approval for continued exceptions.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Recommend expiry, risk reassessment and owner approval for continued exceptions. The relevant control principle is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Expired exceptions close or are explicitly renewed with current evidence and risk ownership.

Incorrect Answers

A:

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 expiry, risk reassessment and owner approval for continued exceptions. The governing distinction is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.

B:

Recommend a documented deployment and review cycle for the revised standard. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new corporate service standard is rolled out without training, version control or effectiveness reviews. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend expiry, risk reassessment and owner approval for continued exceptions. The governing distinction is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.

C:

Recommend current entitlement reconciliation before renewal commitments. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Software licenses are renewed using last year's device counts despite major decommissioning. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend expiry, risk reassessment and owner approval for continued exceptions. The governing distinction is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.

Question 161

Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A monitoring alert is generated for suspicious transfers, but no owner is assigned to investigate or close it. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?

  1. Compare approved charter, new testing requests, risk justification and effort forecast.
  2. Sample alert queues, closure timestamps, escalation rules and staff assignments.
  3. Review the policy exception, applicable requirement, exposure evidence and management response.
  4. Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Sample alert queues, closure timestamps, escalation rules and staff assignments. The governing principle is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Compare approved charter, new testing requests, risk justification and effort forecast. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Fieldwork expands to a new subsidiary without updating the approved engagement scope or communicating budget impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Sample alert queues, closure timestamps, escalation rules and staff assignments. The governing distinction is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.

C:

Review the policy exception, applicable requirement, exposure evidence and management response. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A report calls a firewall exception critical but provides no business impact, cause or responsible owner. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Sample alert queues, closure timestamps, escalation rules and staff assignments. The governing distinction is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.

D:

Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals. 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 audit step is: Sample alert queues, closure timestamps, escalation rules and staff assignments. The governing distinction is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.

Question 162

An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A bank converts 20 years of loan records into a new core system and reconciles only total record counts. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?

  1. Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance.
  2. Recommend a proof of feasibility against critical clinical and regulatory criteria.
  3. Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events.
  4. Recommend distinct least-privileged release identities and controlled promotion rights.

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance. The relevant control principle is: Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Target balances, exceptions and sampled loan histories reconcile to source records.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Recommend a proof of feasibility against critical clinical and regulatory criteria. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A hospital chooses a cloud imaging service without confirming network reliability or clinical response needs. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance. The governing distinction is: Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation.

C:

Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An ERP cutover leaves the old interface running and duplicates orders in both systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance. The governing distinction is: Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation.

D:

Recommend distinct least-privileged release identities and controlled promotion rights. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A team uses the same deployment credentials for development, test and production systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance. The governing distinction is: Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation.

Question 163

Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An audit manager signs the report although a junior tester's exceptions have not received independent review. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?

  1. Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics.
  2. Review required technical tests, skill inventory, schedules and critical-path tasks.
  3. Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures.
  4. Separate audit-period evidence, remediation date and independent retest results.

Explanation

Correct Answer

C:

Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures. It is more reliable than assuming the claimed control state from discussion alone. The governing principle is: Quality supervision requires sufficient review before relying on engagement conclusions.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor samples only Monday transactions to conclude that weekend payments were controlled effectively. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures. The governing distinction is: Quality supervision requires sufficient review before relying on engagement conclusions.

B:

Review required technical tests, skill inventory, schedules and critical-path tasks. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A compliance audit is due in four weeks but its only database specialist is assigned to an unrelated engagement. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures. The governing distinction is: Quality supervision requires sufficient review before relying on engagement conclusions.

D:

Separate audit-period evidence, remediation date and independent retest results. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditee disputes an audit exception by supplying a later control fix, then asks to erase the historical finding. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures. The governing distinction is: Quality supervision requires sufficient review before relying on engagement conclusions.

Question 164

An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An internal auditor helped configure the privileged-access system now scheduled for an assurance review. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?

  1. Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
  2. Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement.
  3. Professional independence requires reporting supported risk conclusions despite management preferences.
  4. Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect project participation records, audit assignments and independence declarations before fieldwork.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit team changes sampling procedures each quarter without documenting why results are no longer comparable. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.

C:

Professional independence requires reporting supported risk conclusions despite management preferences. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A chief information officer asks the audit lead to remove a supported high-risk finding before it reaches the audit committee. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.

D:

Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A business unit requests that internal audit review only controls selected by its system owner. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.

Question 165

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An anomaly model ranks high-value payments as suspicious but the auditor cannot explain its scoring or false-positive rate. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. Known test events appear and processing totals reconcile after ingestion recovery.
  2. Selected items reconcile to the inventory and any gaps are reflected in the final conclusion.
  3. A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition.
  4. Reported exceptions are reproducible and supported by transaction evidence rather than model scores alone.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Reported exceptions are reproducible and supported by transaction evidence rather than model scores alone. It addresses audit data analytics. Underlying audit concern: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Known test events appear and processing totals reconcile after ingestion recovery. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuous monitoring dashboard reports zero failed access attempts because its collection job stopped three days ago. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reported exceptions are reproducible and supported by transaction evidence rather than model scores alone. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.

B:

Selected items reconcile to the inventory and any gaps are reflected in the final conclusion. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management offers ten handpicked successful failover demonstrations as evidence that every critical service has tested recovery. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reported exceptions are reproducible and supported by transaction evidence rather than model scores alone. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.

C:

A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal auditor helped configure the privileged-access system now scheduled for an assurance review. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reported exceptions are reproducible and supported by transaction evidence rather than model scores alone. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.

Question 166

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An application uses TLS for client sessions but disables certificate validation when connecting to its payment processor. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. A backup-copy compromise does not grant unauthorized access to the decryption keys.
  2. The application rejects a known revoked test certificate while accepting valid trusted peers.
  3. Image hashes match and each custody transfer is attributable and time-stamped.
  4. Connections to an untrusted endpoint fail while approved processor sessions work.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Connections to an untrusted endpoint fail while approved processor sessions work. It addresses data encryption. Underlying audit concern: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.

Incorrect Answers

A:

A backup-copy compromise does not grant unauthorized access to the decryption keys. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A team stores database encryption keys in the same unrestricted repository as encrypted backups. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Connections to an untrusted endpoint fail while approved processor sessions work. The governing distinction is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.

B:

The application rejects a known revoked test certificate while accepting valid trusted peers. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A revoked supplier certificate remains trusted by an application because revocation checks are disabled. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Connections to an untrusted endpoint fail while approved processor sessions work. The governing distinction is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.

C:

Image hashes match and each custody transfer is attributable and time-stamped. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An investigator copies a suspect laptop disk without recording who handled it or whether the image changed. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Connections to an untrusted endpoint fail while approved processor sessions work. The governing distinction is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.

Question 167

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A disaster recovery runbook lists server boot order but omits database integrity and application acceptance tests. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. A simulated severe incident reaches designated decision-makers within defined thresholds.
  2. A recovery test completes reconciled business transactions within required limits.
  3. A restore exercise measures actual data currency against the approved loss limit.
  4. A site-loss simulation processes representative payments through the recovery location.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

A recovery test completes reconciled business transactions within required limits. It addresses disaster recovery plans. Underlying audit concern: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.

Incorrect Answers

A:

A simulated severe incident reaches designated decision-makers within defined thresholds. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A major cyber outage is escalated only after normal helpdesk response times expire. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A recovery test completes reconciled business transactions within required limits. The governing distinction is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.

C:

A restore exercise measures actual data currency against the approved loss limit. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A sales system's backup schedule is chosen before the business determines acceptable data loss. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A recovery test completes reconciled business transactions within required limits. The governing distinction is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.

D:

A site-loss simulation processes representative payments through the recovery location. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A recovery site has servers but no validated link to the payment network after a facility loss. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A recovery test completes reconciled business transactions within required limits. The governing distinction is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.

Question 168

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Post-audit follow-up marks a critical password weakness closed solely because management sent a completion email. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition.
  2. Closure is supported by test evidence; failed or partial fixes remain open with escalation.
  3. Confirmed duplicates and legitimate reversals are separately documented and reproducible.
  4. Later engagements show consistent method application and explain justified departures.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Closure is supported by test evidence; failed or partial fixes remain open with escalation. It addresses quality assurance and improvement of audit process. Underlying audit concern: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.

Incorrect Answers

A:

A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal auditor helped configure the privileged-access system now scheduled for an assurance review. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Closure is supported by test evidence; failed or partial fixes remain open with escalation. The governing distinction is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.

C:

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: Closure is supported by test evidence; failed or partial fixes remain open with escalation. The governing distinction is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.

D:

Later engagements show consistent method application and explain justified departures. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit team changes sampling procedures each quarter without documenting why results are no longer comparable. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Closure is supported by test evidence; failed or partial fixes remain open with escalation. The governing distinction is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.

Question 169

Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A container orchestration platform admits unverified public images into a payment workload namespace. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?

  1. Review identity telemetry, privilege events, alert correlation and analyst disposition.
  2. Inspect one-line diagrams, panel dependencies, generator capacity and test history.
  3. Inspect bucket ACLs, public access settings, deployment templates and audit events.
  4. Review image registries, provenance verification, admission controls and runtime exceptions.

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Review image registries, provenance verification, admission controls and runtime exceptions. The governing principle is: Cloud-native workloads require source integrity, runtime policy and supply-chain governance.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Review identity telemetry, privilege events, alert correlation and analyst disposition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A SOC receives repeated login alerts but does not correlate them with high-value account privilege changes. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review image registries, provenance verification, admission controls and runtime exceptions. The governing distinction is: Cloud-native workloads require source integrity, runtime policy and supply-chain governance.

B:

Inspect one-line diagrams, panel dependencies, generator capacity and test history. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data center's redundant power feeds terminate at the same upstream distribution panel. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review image registries, provenance verification, admission controls and runtime exceptions. The governing distinction is: Cloud-native workloads require source integrity, runtime policy and supply-chain governance.

C:

Inspect bucket ACLs, public access settings, deployment templates and audit events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud storage bucket used for personnel data becomes publicly readable after a template change. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review image registries, provenance verification, admission controls and runtime exceptions. The governing distinction is: Cloud-native workloads require source integrity, runtime policy and supply-chain governance.

Question 170

Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A chief information officer asks the audit lead to remove a supported high-risk finding before it reaches the audit committee. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?

  1. Relevant events match across trusted sources and retention controls prevent undetected alteration.
  2. The issued report contains an evidence-grounded assessment and documented management response.
  3. A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition.
  4. Known test events appear and processing totals reconcile after ingestion recovery.

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

The issued report contains an evidence-grounded assessment and documented management response. It addresses is audit standards, guidelines, and codes of ethics. Underlying audit concern: Professional independence requires reporting supported risk conclusions despite management preferences.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Relevant events match across trusted sources and retention controls prevent undetected alteration. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vendor's audit log is editable by the same administrator whose changes are under investigation. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The issued report contains an evidence-grounded assessment and documented management response. The governing distinction is: Professional independence requires reporting supported risk conclusions despite management preferences.

C:

A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal auditor helped configure the privileged-access system now scheduled for an assurance review. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The issued report contains an evidence-grounded assessment and documented management response. The governing distinction is: Professional independence requires reporting supported risk conclusions despite management preferences.

D:

Known test events appear and processing totals reconcile after ingestion recovery. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuous monitoring dashboard reports zero failed access attempts because its collection job stopped three days ago. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The issued report contains an evidence-grounded assessment and documented management response. The governing distinction is: Professional independence requires reporting supported risk conclusions despite management preferences.

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) Practice Tests