Isaca CISA Practice Test 26
Question 250
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A vendor's product demonstration uses sanitized sample data while the production workload needs complex legacy mappings. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
- Effective oversight requires consolidated delivery reporting and objective milestone evidence.
- Feasibility studies should test technical, operational and compliance constraints before selection.
- Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare actual legacy schema, data quality, integration needs and demonstration assumptions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed. 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 principle is: Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints. The governing distinction is: Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints.
B:Effective oversight requires consolidated delivery reporting and objective milestone evidence. 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 principle is: Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints. The governing distinction is: Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints.
C:Feasibility studies should test technical, operational and compliance constraints before selection. 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 principle is: Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints. The governing distinction is: Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints.
Question 251
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A bank's compliance register still lists a superseded regulatory reporting deadline after a rule change. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Harmonize procedures or formally approve justified exceptions with assigned owners.
- Recommend lifecycle deletion and exception enforcement across all controlled storage locations.
- Recommend a jurisdiction-specific obligation register and tested control mapping for the service.
- Recommend assigned regulatory monitoring and change approval for affected compliance procedures.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend assigned regulatory monitoring and change approval for affected compliance procedures. The relevant control principle is: Governance must detect changes in external obligations and translate them into owned controls. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A new requirement is assessed, implemented and evidenced before its effective date.
Incorrect Answers
A:Harmonize procedures or formally approve justified exceptions with assigned owners. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Regional IT teams follow conflicting change-control procedures even though one enterprise policy applies. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend assigned regulatory monitoring and change approval for affected compliance procedures. The governing distinction is: Governance must detect changes in external obligations and translate them into owned controls.
B:Recommend lifecycle deletion and exception enforcement across all controlled storage locations. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud analytics environment retains raw regulated data after the approved business retention period. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend assigned regulatory monitoring and change approval for affected compliance procedures. The governing distinction is: Governance must detect changes in external obligations and translate them into owned controls.
C: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 assigned regulatory monitoring and change approval for affected compliance procedures. The governing distinction is: Governance must detect changes in external obligations and translate them into owned controls.
Question 252
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An internal auditor helped configure the privileged-access system now scheduled for an assurance review. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Collect business criticality, interface volume, control maturity, change history and incident reporting quality.
- Inspect data model, supplier identifiers, credit indicators and reconciliation counts.
- Review the independence policy, gift register and relationship to the auditee before accepting anything.
- Inspect project participation records, audit assignments and independence declarations before fieldwork.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Inspect project participation records, audit assignments and independence declarations before fieldwork. The governing principle is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
Incorrect Answers
A:Collect business criticality, interface volume, control maturity, change history and incident reporting quality. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor cannot decide whether to review a high-impact legacy billing interface because no recent incidents are recorded. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect project participation records, audit assignments and independence declarations before fieldwork. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
B:Inspect data model, supplier identifiers, credit indicators and reconciliation counts. 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 audit step is: Inspect project participation records, audit assignments and independence declarations before fieldwork. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
C:Review the independence policy, gift register and relationship to the auditee before accepting anything. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An external contractor offers the auditor a valuable gift while a supplier compliance assessment is being finalized. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect project participation records, audit assignments and independence declarations before fieldwork. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
Question 253
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A security team isolates a suspicious server without informing its critical care business owner, interrupting clinical operations. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
- Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
- Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
- Preserving original evidence is essential for reliable investigation and potential legal use.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination. The corresponding audit procedure is: Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives.
Incorrect Answers
B:Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Developers complete general security videos but continue committing cloud keys into source repositories. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination. The governing distinction is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
C:Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An organization discovers a reportable personal-data breach but no one knows who can authorize external notification. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination. The governing distinction is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
D: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: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination. The governing distinction is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
Question 254
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A board report includes hundreds of raw test details but fails to distinguish enterprise-critical findings. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness.
- A nonrepresentative selection can lead to unsupported conclusions about the entire population.
- Actionable audit findings link condition, criteria, cause, effect and corrective ownership.
- Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. The corresponding audit procedure is: Analyze risk ratings, affected processes, residual exposure and stakeholder decisions needed.
Incorrect Answers
A:Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Three departments repeatedly miss remediation dates but audit management reports closure rates without aging analysis. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. The governing distinction is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
B:A nonrepresentative selection can lead to unsupported conclusions about the entire population. 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 principle is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. The governing distinction is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
C:Actionable audit findings link condition, criteria, cause, effect and corrective ownership. 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 principle is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. The governing distinction is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
Question 255
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: Post-audit follow-up marks a critical password weakness closed solely because management sent a completion email. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Expand testing or qualify the conclusion according to sampling risk and materiality.
- Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions.
- Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure.
- Decline the benefit, disclose the approach and apply the organization's ethics process.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure. The relevant control principle is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Closure is supported by test evidence; failed or partial fixes remain open with escalation.
Incorrect Answers
A:Expand testing or qualify the conclusion according to sampling risk and materiality. 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 recommendation is: Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure. The governing distinction is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.
B:Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit director relies on peer sign-offs that were completed by the same person who prepared each working paper. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure. The governing distinction is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.
D:Decline the benefit, disclose the approach and apply the organization's ethics process. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An external contractor offers the auditor a valuable gift while a supplier compliance assessment is being finalized. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure. The governing distinction is: Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.
Question 256
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A service desk deletes incident attachments when tickets are closed, preventing later regulatory review. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps.
- Recommend formal root-cause analysis and a tracked permanent corrective action.
- Recommend an authoritative owner and controlled update conflict handling.
- Recommend protected incident evidence retention and audited deletion rules.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend protected incident evidence retention and audited deletion rules. The relevant control principle is: Incident evidence retention should match legal, audit and operational requirements. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Closed incident records retain required evidence and authorized retrieval is possible.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A call center continuity binder lists alternate desks but employees cannot access the customer service application from that location. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend protected incident evidence retention and audited deletion rules. The governing distinction is: Incident evidence retention should match legal, audit and operational requirements.
B:Recommend formal root-cause analysis and a tracked permanent corrective action. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A helpdesk repeatedly reopens application errors but closes each ticket without investigating a shared underlying defect. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend protected incident evidence retention and audited deletion rules. The governing distinction is: Incident evidence retention should match legal, audit and operational requirements.
C:Recommend an authoritative owner and controlled update conflict handling. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Two systems independently update the same customer address, producing unpredictable last-write results. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend protected incident evidence retention and audited deletion rules. The governing distinction is: Incident evidence retention should match legal, audit and operational requirements.
Question 257
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A SaaS provider promises 99.9% uptime in a brochure but the signed agreement contains no measurable recovery commitment. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Escalate the unauthorized processing and require approved subprocessor controls or remediation.
- Recommend contractual service, notification, assurance and exit requirements before acceptance.
- Recommend an accountable data steward and controlled master-data quality process.
- Recommend a jurisdiction-specific obligation register and tested control mapping for the service.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend contractual service, notification, assurance and exit requirements before acceptance. The relevant control principle is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs.
Incorrect Answers
A:Escalate the unauthorized processing and require approved subprocessor controls or remediation. 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 recommendation is: Recommend contractual service, notification, assurance and exit requirements before acceptance. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
C:Recommend an accountable data steward and controlled master-data quality process. 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 recommendation is: Recommend contractual service, notification, assurance and exit requirements before acceptance. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
D: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 contractual service, notification, assurance and exit requirements before acceptance. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Question 258
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A department builds a low-code workflow that sends customer data to an unknown external connector. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Critical end-user computing requires integrity, access and change controls proportionate to risk.
- Configuration accuracy is necessary for impact analysis and controlled service changes.
- Interface testing must verify semantic accuracy and completeness, not only transport success.
- Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect connector permissions, transferred fields, approval records and process ownership.
Incorrect Answers
A:Critical end-user computing requires integrity, access and change controls proportionate to risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A spreadsheet with editable formulas calculates regulatory capital but has no validation or change history. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security. The governing distinction is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.
B:Configuration accuracy is necessary for impact analysis and controlled service changes. 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 principle is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security. The governing distinction is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.
C:Interface testing must verify semantic accuracy and completeness, not only transport success. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An inventory API responds successfully while silently truncating long product descriptions during integration. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security. The governing distinction is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.
Question 259
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An organization receives data subject requests but cannot locate personal records spread across cloud and on-premise systems. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Privacy controls should minimize personal data shared with processors.
- Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership.
- Oversight needs verified performance evidence and appropriate challenge of provider claims.
- Critical skill dependencies should be addressed in resource and continuity planning.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review data maps, request handling records, search completeness and response time obligations.
Incorrect Answers
A:Privacy controls should minimize personal data shared with processors. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A service provider requests full identity documents when a masked identifier would satisfy a support task. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership. The governing distinction is: Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership.
C:Oversight needs verified performance evidence and appropriate challenge of provider claims. 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 principle is: Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership. The governing distinction is: Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership.
D:Critical skill dependencies should be addressed in resource and continuity planning. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A planned analytics launch relies on one database specialist who has no trained backup. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership. The governing distinction is: Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership.
Question 260
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A department builds a low-code workflow that sends customer data to an unknown external connector. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration.
- Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use.
- Recommend sanctioned collaboration or compensating controls and managed migration.
- Recommend business-service indicators and contractual accountability for meaningful failures.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use. The relevant control principle is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Only authorized destinations receive necessary data and workflow use is logged.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An attacker encrypts production files and online backups because both use the same compromised admin identity. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use. The governing distinction is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.
C:Recommend sanctioned collaboration or compensating controls and managed migration. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A sales team stores client contracts in an unapproved personal file-sharing account for convenience. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use. The governing distinction is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.
D:Recommend business-service indicators and contractual accountability for meaningful failures. 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 recommendation is: Recommend an EUC registry, approved connectors and security review before production use. The governing distinction is: Citizen-developed systems remain subject to data governance and integration security.