Isaca CISA Practice Test 27
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.
Question 261
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A major cyber outage is escalated only after normal helpdesk response times expire. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Infrastructure health alone does not represent availability of external service dependencies.
- Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
- Incident evidence retention should match legal, audit and operational requirements.
- Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare severity criteria, initial alerts, notification times and response records.
Incorrect Answers
A:Infrastructure health alone does not represent availability of external service dependencies. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud-hosted application has healthy virtual machines but customer logins fail when its external identity service is unavailable. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths. The governing distinction is: Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
C:Incident evidence retention should match legal, audit and operational requirements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A service desk deletes incident attachments when tickets are closed, preventing later regulatory review. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths. The governing distinction is: Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
D:Continuity plans must integrate people, facilities, technology and business processes. 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 principle is: Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths. The governing distinction is: Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
Question 262
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A certificate authority's signing key is available to several administrators without dual control. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Untrusted office endpoints cannot administer sensors and default passwords no longer work.
- The application rejects a known revoked test certificate while accepting valid trusted peers.
- An authorized test shows alarms and personnel response without preventing emergency egress.
- An unauthorized administrator cannot export or use the CA signing key.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:An unauthorized administrator cannot export or use the CA signing key. It addresses public key infrastructure. Underlying audit concern: CA private keys require strong custody and accountable access due to their trust impact.
Incorrect Answers
A: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: An unauthorized administrator cannot export or use the CA signing key. The governing distinction is: CA private keys require strong custody and accountable access due to their trust impact.
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: An unauthorized administrator cannot export or use the CA signing key. The governing distinction is: CA private keys require strong custody and accountable access due to their trust impact.
C:An authorized test shows alarms and personnel response without preventing emergency egress. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A server room uses badge access but an unattended emergency door allows unrecorded entry. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: An unauthorized administrator cannot export or use the CA signing key. The governing distinction is: CA private keys require strong custody and accountable access due to their trust impact.
Question 263
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: Management reports 99.99% uptime by excluding unscheduled customer-impacting outages from the metric. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Group incident trends, known error records and evidence of shared failure conditions.
- Review nonfinancial impacts, dependency chains and stakeholder severity scales.
- Review rack placement, power/cooling diagrams, recovery design and fault dependencies.
- Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations. The governing principle is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Group incident trends, known error records and evidence of shared failure conditions. 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 audit step is: Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations. The governing distinction is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
B:Review nonfinancial impacts, dependency chains and stakeholder severity scales. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Continuity leadership bases recovery priorities on annual revenue only and ignores safety-critical low-volume services. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations. The governing distinction is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
C:Review rack placement, power/cooling diagrams, recovery design and fault dependencies. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A database is replicated across two racks but both racks depend on the same cooling circuit. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations. The governing distinction is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
Question 264
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A monitoring alert is generated for suspicious transfers, but no owner is assigned to investigate or close it. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts.
- Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties.
- Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership.
- Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts. The relevant control principle is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Sample alerts have timely decisions, documented resolution and escalation when overdue.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties. 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 recommendation is: Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts. The governing distinction is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.
C:Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor discovers an urgent uncontained data disclosure but plans to mention it only in the quarterly report. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts. The governing distinction is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.
D: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: Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts. The governing distinction is: A detective control must include timely response and accountability to reduce exposure.
Question 265
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A production database account has unrestricted privileges for a read-only reporting integration. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A site-loss simulation processes representative payments through the recovery location.
- The integration reads required views but cannot modify protected tables.
- Full valid descriptions survive transfer and oversized payloads generate tracked exceptions.
- An anticipated high-load period does not exhaust storage and restore capability remains intact.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:The integration reads required views but cannot modify protected tables. It addresses database management. Underlying audit concern: Database least privilege should restrict access by actual application function.
Incorrect Answers
A: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: The integration reads required views but cannot modify protected tables. The governing distinction is: Database least privilege should restrict access by actual application function.
C:Full valid descriptions survive transfer and oversized payloads generate tracked exceptions. 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 verification is: The integration reads required views but cannot modify protected tables. The governing distinction is: Database least privilege should restrict access by actual application function.
D:An anticipated high-load period does not exhaust storage and restore capability remains intact. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Database transaction logs fill the only disk volume and cause a payment service outage. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The integration reads required views but cannot modify protected tables. The governing distinction is: Database least privilege should restrict access by actual application function.
Question 266
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A marketing platform collects customer location data without a documented lawful purpose or retention period. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls.
- Verified storage locations and downstream contracts align with permitted processing.
- Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules.
- Sample requests locate applicable systems and receive complete timely disposition.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules. It addresses privacy program and principles. Underlying audit concern: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
Incorrect Answers
A:Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls. 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 verification is: Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules. The governing distinction is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
B:Verified storage locations and downstream contracts align with permitted processing. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A subcontractor stores confidential records in a region excluded by the prime provider's contract. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules. The governing distinction is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
D:Sample requests locate applicable systems and receive complete timely disposition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An organization receives data subject requests but cannot locate personal records spread across cloud and on-premise systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules. The governing distinction is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
Question 267
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An audit director relies on peer sign-offs that were completed by the same person who prepared each working paper. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting.
- Clarify the engagement type and issue only conclusions supported by the work actually performed.
- Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions.
- Resolve the conflicting accounts using contemporaneous authoritative records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions. The relevant control principle is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Workpapers demonstrate distinct preparer and reviewer approvals and resolved comments.
Incorrect Answers
A:Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting. 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 recommendation is: Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions. The governing distinction is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
B:Clarify the engagement type and issue only conclusions supported by the work actually performed. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management calls a readiness workshop a completed audit even though no testing or assurance opinion was planned. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions. The governing distinction is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
D:Resolve the conflicting accounts using contemporaneous authoritative records. 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 recommendation is: Require qualified review separate from preparation for material testing and report conclusions. The governing distinction is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
Question 268
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A supplier dependency map omits a critical cloud DNS service used by every customer-facing application. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend dependency register updates and tested risk-based failover procedures.
- Recommend independent communications paths or explicit mitigation for shared exposure.
- Recommend business-approved RPO and matching protection technology.
- Recommend independent failure domains or formally accepted residual exposure.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend dependency register updates and tested risk-based failover procedures. The relevant control principle is: Resilience planning must include external and supporting infrastructure dependencies. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A controlled DNS failure exercise meets continuity expectations or documents accepted gaps.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recommend independent communications paths or explicit mitigation for shared exposure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Two data centers have separate buildings but share one telecom carrier and underground duct. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend dependency register updates and tested risk-based failover procedures. The governing distinction is: Resilience planning must include external and supporting infrastructure dependencies.
C:Recommend business-approved RPO and matching protection technology. 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 recommendation is: Recommend dependency register updates and tested risk-based failover procedures. The governing distinction is: Resilience planning must include external and supporting infrastructure dependencies.
D:Recommend independent failure domains or formally accepted residual exposure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A database is replicated across two racks but both racks depend on the same cooling circuit. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend dependency register updates and tested risk-based failover procedures. The governing distinction is: Resilience planning must include external and supporting infrastructure dependencies.
Question 269
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An auditor discovers an urgent uncontained data disclosure but plans to mention it only in the quarterly report. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request.
- Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership.
- Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance.
- Obtain documented authorization for the scope adjustment and rebaseline the plan.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership. The relevant control principle is: Material time-sensitive risks require prompt escalation through defined audit channels. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Records show timely escalation without sacrificing evidence integrity or independence.
Incorrect Answers
A:Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A board report includes hundreds of raw test details but fails to distinguish enterprise-critical findings. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership. The governing distinction is: Material time-sensitive risks require prompt escalation through defined audit channels.
C:Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance. 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 recommendation is: Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership. The governing distinction is: Material time-sensitive risks require prompt escalation through defined audit channels.
D:Obtain documented authorization for the scope adjustment and rebaseline the plan. 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 recommendation is: Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership. The governing distinction is: Material time-sensitive risks require prompt escalation through defined audit channels.
Question 270
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A database access audit receives a file containing only current active users although it must assess leavers over the last quarter. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
- Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement.
- Judgmentally selected favorable examples cannot support a population-wide effectiveness conclusion.
- Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test. The corresponding audit procedure is: Reconcile HR departures and access history against the access extract's coverage dates.
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: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test. The governing distinction is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
C:Judgmentally selected favorable examples cannot support a population-wide effectiveness 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 principle is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test. The governing distinction is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
D:Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A board report includes hundreds of raw test details but fails to distinguish enterprise-critical findings. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test. The governing distinction is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.