Isaca CISA Practice Test 21
Question 200
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Auditors receive conflicting statements from administrators about whether an encryption setting was enabled during the test period. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A revised audit universe and schedule explicitly cover newly material acquisition risks.
- Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps.
- The audit conclusion cites verifiable settings effective during the scope period.
- Workpapers trace each material reporting risk to an appropriate control and test result.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:The audit conclusion cites verifiable settings effective during the scope period. It addresses audit evidence collection techniques. Underlying audit concern: Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence.
Incorrect Answers
A:A revised audit universe and schedule explicitly cover newly material acquisition risks. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A merger adds a regulated customer database after the audit plan was approved, but the plan is treated as unchangeable. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The audit conclusion cites verifiable settings effective during the scope period. The governing distinction is: Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence.
B:Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A supplier gives the audit team a third-party control report that expired before the review period. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The audit conclusion cites verifiable settings effective during the scope period. The governing distinction is: Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence.
D:Workpapers trace each material reporting risk to an appropriate control and test result. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A financial reporting controls audit tests only the cloud provider's availability status but ignores the customer's application controls. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The audit conclusion cites verifiable settings effective during the scope period. The governing distinction is: Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence.
Question 201
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A DevOps team deploys from automated pipelines with no independent approval for sensitive production promotions. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning.
- Recommend controlled traceability updates and reapproval when significant needs change.
- Recommend risk-based release gates and accountable authorization in the pipeline.
- Recommend a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend risk-based release gates and accountable authorization in the pipeline. The relevant control principle is: Automation should enforce appropriate separation of duties and production-release control. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Unauthorized promotions fail while approved releases retain auditable provenance.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud move assumes existing encryption keys will work in the target without import or custody testing. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based release gates and accountable authorization in the pipeline. The governing distinction is: Automation should enforce appropriate separation of duties and production-release control.
B:Recommend controlled traceability updates and reapproval when significant needs change. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A waterfall project signs off design once, then production requirements change without design traceability. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based release gates and accountable authorization in the pipeline. The governing distinction is: Automation should enforce appropriate separation of duties and production-release control.
D:Recommend a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A program steering committee receives status reports from one vendor but has no visibility into independent testing delays. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based release gates and accountable authorization in the pipeline. The governing distinction is: Automation should enforce appropriate separation of duties and production-release control.
Question 202
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A mobile-banking project reaches launch without an accountable sponsor for unresolved regulatory requirements. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Compare throughput thresholds, test environment parity and unresolved bottlenecks.
- Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments.
- Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records.
- Compare balances, unique IDs, rejects, cutoff times and migration mapping rules.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments. The governing principle is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
Incorrect Answers
A:Compare throughput thresholds, test environment parity and unresolved bottlenecks. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud platform is declared ready despite failed high-load tests and no capacity remediation plan. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments. The governing distinction is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
C:Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new enterprise resource planning program frequently expands requirements without cost, risk or schedule review. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments. The governing distinction is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
D:Compare balances, unique IDs, rejects, cutoff times and migration mapping rules. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A bank converts 20 years of loan records into a new core system and reconciles only total record counts. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments. The governing distinction is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
Question 203
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A code review tool shows no vulnerabilities after analysts exclude the main authentication module from scanning. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope.
- Unauthorized public reads fail and approved access remains auditable.
- Approved staff retrieve only necessary records and excessive exports are flagged or blocked.
- Verified findings and compensating controls support the documented residual risk.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope. It addresses security testing tools and techniques. Underlying audit concern: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
Incorrect Answers
B:Unauthorized public reads fail and approved access remains auditable. 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 verification is: Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope. The governing distinction is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
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: Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope. The governing distinction is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
D:Verified findings and compensating controls support the documented residual risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vulnerability scanner reports a critical web flaw but the service is behind a compensating control and no validation occurs. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope. The governing distinction is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
Question 204
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An organization discovers a reportable personal-data breach but no one knows who can authorize external notification. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
- Forensic collection scope should preserve a complete relevant timeline within lawful boundaries.
- Incident lessons learned should improve preventive, detective and response controls.
- Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review notification obligations, escalation matrix, incident classification and response records.
Incorrect Answers
B:Forensic collection scope should preserve a complete relevant timeline within lawful boundaries. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud incident investigator exports only the latest activity logs, omitting records from the suspected initial compromise. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions. The governing distinction is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
C:Incident lessons learned should improve preventive, detective and response controls. 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 principle is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions. The governing distinction is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
D:Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A research team labels every file confidential, generating excessive DLP false positives and routine overrides. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions. The governing distinction is: Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
Question 205
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A change program reports all projects green by budget but ignores delayed security deliverables. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend independent service-level validation and dispute or corrective-action processes.
- Recommend a jurisdiction-specific obligation register and tested control mapping for the service.
- Recommend balanced KPI and KRI reporting with explicit unresolved risk.
- Recommend risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend balanced KPI and KRI reporting with explicit unresolved risk. The relevant control principle is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Executive dashboards disclose late security gates alongside spending status.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend independent service-level validation and dispute or corrective-action processes. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management accepts monthly vendor summaries without independently checking service-level breaches. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend balanced KPI and KRI reporting with explicit unresolved risk. The governing distinction is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
B:Recommend a jurisdiction-specific obligation register and tested control mapping for the service. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A multinational cloud project assumes a control compliant in one country automatically satisfies every jurisdiction in which data is processed. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend balanced KPI and KRI reporting with explicit unresolved risk. The governing distinction is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
D:Recommend risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Procurement selects the lowest-cost cloud vendor while ignoring prior security incidents and regulatory audit rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend balanced KPI and KRI reporting with explicit unresolved risk. The governing distinction is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
Question 206
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A vulnerability scanner reports a critical web flaw but the service is behind a compensating control and no validation occurs. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Monitoring reliability requires completeness, heartbeat and sensor-health validation.
- Security program maturity requires operational evidence rather than documentation counts alone.
- Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
- Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls.
Incorrect Answers
A: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: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions. The governing distinction is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
B:Security program maturity requires operational evidence rather than documentation counts alone. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A compliance dashboard reports all policies published but does not measure whether their security controls operate. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions. The governing distinction is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
D:Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes. 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 principle is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions. The governing distinction is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
Question 207
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An IT strategy document lists new tools but has no targets for customer availability or service costs. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review loss scenarios, duration estimates and board-approved risk limits.
- Interview business sponsors and compare strategic priorities with proposed IT measures.
- Inspect portability clauses, data format, transition timing and alternative service readiness.
- Review risk committee charters, decision rights and reporting relationships.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Interview business sponsors and compare strategic priorities with proposed IT measures. The governing principle is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review loss scenarios, duration estimates and board-approved risk 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 audit step is: Interview business sponsors and compare strategic priorities with proposed IT measures. The governing distinction is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
C:Inspect portability clauses, data format, transition timing and alternative service readiness. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A critical provider exits the market and the customer has no usable data export or transition rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Interview business sponsors and compare strategic priorities with proposed IT measures. The governing distinction is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
D:Review risk committee charters, decision rights and reporting relationships. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A chief technology officer both accepts enterprise cyber risk and certifies the independence of the risk oversight function. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Interview business sponsors and compare strategic priorities with proposed IT measures. The governing distinction is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
Question 208
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A call center continuity binder lists alternate desks but employees cannot access the customer service application from that location. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site.
- Subsequent database changes preserve required reporting functionality or roll back safely.
- Each retired device reconciles to approved erasure or destruction evidence and authorized release.
- A rerun delivers correct messages through tested channels within response requirements.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site. It addresses business continuity plan. Underlying audit concern: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
Incorrect Answers
B:Subsequent database changes preserve required reporting functionality or roll back safely. 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 verification is: Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site. The governing distinction is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
C:Each retired device reconciles to approved erasure or destruction evidence and authorized release. 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 verification is: Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site. The governing distinction is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
D:A rerun delivers correct messages through tested channels within response requirements. 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 verification is: Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site. The governing distinction is: Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
Question 209
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A SaaS provider promises 99.9% uptime in a brochure but the signed agreement contains no measurable recovery commitment. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs.
- Data samples reflect the approved retention decision without unapproved loss or overretention.
- Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation.
- A rehearsal demonstrates recoverable data and an operationally feasible provider transition.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs. It addresses it vendor management. Underlying audit concern: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Incorrect Answers
B: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: Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
C:Risk treatment decisions remain within approved appetite or receive documented authorized escalation. 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 verification is: Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
D:A rehearsal demonstrates recoverable data and an operationally feasible provider transition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A critical provider exits the market and the customer has no usable data export or transition rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Question 210
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A business unit requests that internal audit review only controls selected by its system owner. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence.
- Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
- Audit resources should be allocated according to assessed risk and organizational priorities.
- Sample conclusions must reflect observed deviations and appropriate uncertainty.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The corresponding audit procedure is: Examine threat scenarios, regulatory exposure, process dependencies and proposed exclusions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Auditors receive conflicting statements from administrators about whether an encryption setting was enabled during the test period. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
C:Audit resources should be allocated according to assessed risk and organizational priorities. 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 principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
D:Sample conclusions must reflect observed deviations and appropriate uncertainty. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A sample of authorized changes contains failures, yet the auditor extrapolates a zero-percent exception rate. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.