Isaca CISA Practice Test 18
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?
- Relevant events match across trusted sources and retention controls prevent undetected alteration.
- The issued report contains an evidence-grounded assessment and documented management response.
- A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition.
- 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.
Question 171
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A transaction platform runs at high average CPU and has no measured headroom for seasonal spikes. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review approved retention rules, system purge settings, storage capacity and sampled history.
- Inspect route tables, protocol dependencies, vendor support and test evidence.
- Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves.
- Map DNS architecture, cache behavior, alternate paths and outage records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves. The governing principle is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review approved retention rules, system purge settings, storage capacity and sampled history. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A financial application retains operational logs for only a week although investigation rules require six months. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves. The governing distinction is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.
B: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: Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves. The governing distinction is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.
D:Map DNS architecture, cache behavior, alternate paths and outage records. 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 audit step is: Review peak transaction load, resource saturation, forecasts and failure reserves. The governing distinction is: Capacity planning must account for peak demand, growth and degraded operation.
Question 172
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A new web checkout design addresses user experience but fails to define controls for unauthorized refund changes. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend removing unnecessary launch privileges and recording any approved residual risk.
- Recommend a full business case including operational costs and sensitivity analysis.
- Recommend preventive entitlement checks and independent monitoring in design acceptance criteria.
- Recommend end-to-end record reconciliation and disposition of transformation errors.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend preventive entitlement checks and independent monitoring in design acceptance criteria. The relevant control principle is: Control requirements should be identified from business risk during system design. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Design tests reject unauthorized refunds and reconcile approved changes in records.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend removing unnecessary launch privileges and recording any approved residual risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: After a new billing platform launches, unresolved temporary broad administrator permissions are treated as permanent. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend preventive entitlement checks and independent monitoring in design acceptance criteria. The governing distinction is: Control requirements should be identified from business risk during system design.
B:Recommend a full business case including operational costs and sensitivity analysis. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An automation business case counts staff savings but omits new licenses, monitoring and transition costs. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend preventive entitlement checks and independent monitoring in design acceptance criteria. The governing distinction is: Control requirements should be identified from business risk during system design.
D:Recommend end-to-end record reconciliation and disposition of transformation errors. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data migration design encrypts transfers but does not detect missing or duplicated customer records. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend preventive entitlement checks and independent monitoring in design acceptance criteria. The governing distinction is: Control requirements should be identified from business risk during system design.
Question 173
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A departed finance employee's account remains enabled in a payroll application after HR termination. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Privileged actions map to authorized identities and shared credential use is restricted.
- Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective.
- Untrusted office endpoints cannot administer sensors and default passwords no longer work.
- Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence. It addresses identity and access management. Underlying audit concern: Identity lifecycle controls should promptly revoke access when authorization ends.
Incorrect Answers
A:Privileged actions map to authorized identities and shared credential use is restricted. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Privileged database administrators routinely use shared root credentials without individual attribution. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence. The governing distinction is: Identity lifecycle controls should promptly revoke access when authorization ends.
B:Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: After a malware outbreak is closed, identical infections recur because no root-cause or control improvement work is assigned. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence. The governing distinction is: Identity lifecycle controls should promptly revoke access when authorization ends.
C:Untrusted office endpoints cannot administer sensors and default passwords no longer work. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Warehouse sensors retain factory passwords and are reachable from the corporate office LAN. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence. The governing distinction is: Identity lifecycle controls should promptly revoke access when authorization ends.
Question 174
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: Developers complete general security videos but continue committing cloud keys into source repositories. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Preserving original evidence is essential for reliable investigation and potential legal use.
- Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
- Awareness effectiveness should be measured by behavior and risk reduction, not attendance alone.
- Electrical resilience depends on independence of power paths and verified failure domains.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect code scans, leaked-secret events, training scope and remediation quality.
Incorrect Answers
A:Preserving original evidence is essential for reliable investigation and potential legal use. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Security staff begin forensic analysis directly on a live original log file and overwrite timestamps. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors. The governing distinction is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
C:Awareness effectiveness should be measured by behavior and risk reduction, not attendance alone. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Annual phishing training records show high completion but employees repeatedly submit credentials to simulated malicious sites. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors. The governing distinction is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
D:Electrical resilience depends on independence of power paths and verified failure domains. 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 principle is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors. The governing distinction is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
Question 175
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: After a new billing platform launches, unresolved temporary broad administrator permissions are treated as permanent. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Production access samples match steady-state roles and exception closure is evidenced.
- Post-approval benefits can be compared with documented realistic financial assumptions.
- The project closure record includes validated benefits, outstanding risks and lessons implemented.
- Production permissions match reviewed baselines and exceptions have documented approval.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Production access samples match steady-state roles and exception closure is evidenced. It addresses post-implementation review. Underlying audit concern: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
Incorrect Answers
B:Post-approval benefits can be compared with documented realistic financial assumptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An automation business case counts staff savings but omits new licenses, monitoring and transition costs. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Production access samples match steady-state roles and exception closure is evidenced. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
C:The project closure record includes validated benefits, outstanding risks and lessons implemented. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A completed software project is archived without documenting incidents and change causes from the first operating month. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Production access samples match steady-state roles and exception closure is evidenced. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
D:Production permissions match reviewed baselines and exceptions have documented approval. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A production release changes database permissions manually after the reviewed deployment package was approved. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Production access samples match steady-state roles and exception closure is evidenced. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
Question 176
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A call center continuity binder lists alternate desks but employees cannot access the customer service application from that location. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule.
- Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps.
- Recommend auditable emergency change controls with post-implementation oversight.
- Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps. The relevant control principle is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A regional outage exercise reveals that business partners were never included in the communications tree. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps. The governing distinction is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
C:Recommend auditable emergency change controls with post-implementation oversight. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An urgent firewall change is deployed without a ticket and later cannot be attributed to an approver. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps. The governing distinction is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
D:Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use. 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 recommendation is: Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps. The governing distinction is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
Question 177
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An IT inventory lists hundreds of production servers without owners or support end dates. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend resilient name resolution and failure testing for critical client access.
- Recommend impact analysis and coordinated release testing for dependent services.
- Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls.
- Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes. The relevant control principle is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Unowned and unsupported assets are identified and assigned timely disposition.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend resilient name resolution and failure testing for critical client access. 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 recommendation is: Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.
B:Recommend impact analysis and coordinated release testing for dependent services. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A routine database update causes outages because no dependency assessment included reporting services. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.
C:Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls. 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 recommendation is: Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes. The governing distinction is: Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.
Question 178
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A SOC receives repeated login alerts but does not correlate them with high-value account privilege changes. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A safe combined test creates a prioritized alert with adequate investigation context.
- Expired indicators are retired and material active threats remain detectable.
- Approved staff retrieve only necessary records and excessive exports are flagged or blocked.
- Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A safe combined test creates a prioritized alert with adequate investigation context. It addresses security monitoring tools and techniques. Underlying audit concern: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
Incorrect Answers
B:Expired indicators are retired and material active threats remain detectable. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A threat-intelligence feed generates blocks for obsolete indicators without regular relevance review. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A safe combined test creates a prioritized alert with adequate investigation context. The governing distinction is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
C:Approved staff retrieve only necessary records and excessive exports are flagged or blocked. 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 verification is: A safe combined test creates a prioritized alert with adequate investigation context. The governing distinction is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
D:Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A departed finance employee's account remains enabled in a payroll application after HR termination. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A safe combined test creates a prioritized alert with adequate investigation context. The governing distinction is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
Question 179
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An organization discovers a reportable personal-data breach but no one knows who can authorize external notification. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Exercises demonstrate timely threat isolation while maintaining essential care pathways.
- A tabletop triggers authorized decisions and compliant notices within required timeframes.
- The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope.
- Reviews identify inappropriate entitlements and revocation actions complete promptly.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A tabletop triggers authorized decisions and compliant notices within required timeframes. It addresses security incident response management. Underlying audit concern: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Exercises demonstrate timely threat isolation while maintaining essential care pathways. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A security team isolates a suspicious server without informing its critical care business owner, interrupting clinical operations. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A tabletop triggers authorized decisions and compliant notices within required timeframes. The governing distinction is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
C:The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A red-team exercise reports success based on one simulated phishing click without demonstrating access or business impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A tabletop triggers authorized decisions and compliant notices within required timeframes. The governing distinction is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
D:Reviews identify inappropriate entitlements and revocation actions complete promptly. 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 verification is: A tabletop triggers authorized decisions and compliant notices within required timeframes. The governing distinction is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
Question 180
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An internal support agreement omits escalation responsibilities for incidents spanning two suppliers. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend periodic configuration item reconciliation and owner attestation.
- Recommend an integrated support model with named owners and escalation milestones.
- Recommend sustained remediation, contingency planning and governance escalation.
- Recommend failure-aware scheduling, controlled restart and exception escalation.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend an integrated support model with named owners and escalation milestones. The relevant control principle is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A cross-vendor incident reaches an accountable resolver and meets agreed response rules.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend periodic configuration item reconciliation and owner attestation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A configuration database lists a retired server as the active owner of a production application. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an integrated support model with named owners and escalation milestones. The governing distinction is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
C:Recommend sustained remediation, contingency planning and governance escalation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data processing vendor consistently misses recovery times but management pays service credits without correcting the cause. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an integrated support model with named owners and escalation milestones. The governing distinction is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
D:Recommend failure-aware scheduling, controlled restart and exception escalation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A nightly settlement batch fails halfway but the scheduler marks the entire chain successful. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an integrated support model with named owners and escalation milestones. The governing distinction is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.