Isaca CISA Practice Test 3
Question 20
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: Security logs are forwarded to a central platform but administrators can disable forwarding without generating an alert. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Job automation changes should be authorized, versioned and attributable.
- Log retention should align with business, legal, incident and privacy requirements.
- Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps.
- Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps. The corresponding audit procedure is: Check logging privileges, forwarding configuration, heartbeat and gap detection.
Incorrect Answers
A:Job automation changes should be authorized, versioned and attributable. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An operator can edit scheduled payroll scripts directly in production without independent approval. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps. The governing distinction is: Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps.
B:Log retention should align with business, legal, incident and privacy requirements. 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 principle is: Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps. The governing distinction is: Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps.
D:Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement. 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 principle is: Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps. The governing distinction is: Logging integrity requires control over collection configuration and visibility into gaps.
Question 21
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An audit director relies on peer sign-offs that were completed by the same person who prepared each working paper. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Audit oversight receives accurate aging, ownership and retest status for open actions.
- Workpapers demonstrate distinct preparer and reviewer approvals and resolved comments.
- The workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records.
- Engagement scope and limitation disclosures show material risks were not silently omitted.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Workpapers demonstrate distinct preparer and reviewer approvals and resolved comments. It addresses quality assurance and improvement of audit process. Underlying audit concern: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
Incorrect Answers
A:Audit oversight receives accurate aging, ownership and retest status for open actions. 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 verification is: Workpapers demonstrate distinct preparer and reviewer approvals and resolved comments. The governing distinction is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
C:The workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A system owner provides a screenshot of an access list without a timestamp or source-system identification. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Workpapers demonstrate distinct preparer and reviewer approvals and resolved comments. The governing distinction is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
D:Engagement scope and limitation disclosures show material risks were not silently omitted. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A business unit requests that internal audit review only controls selected by its system owner. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Workpapers demonstrate distinct preparer and reviewer approvals and resolved comments. The governing distinction is: Independent workpaper review is undermined by self-approval.
Question 22
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An anomaly model ranks high-value payments as suspicious but the auditor cannot explain its scoring or false-positive rate. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure.
- Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request.
- Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting.
- Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure. The relevant control principle is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Reported exceptions are reproducible and supported by transaction evidence rather than model scores alone.
Incorrect Answers
B: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: Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
C: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: Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
D:Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually. 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 recommendation is: Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
Question 23
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A payroll release passes developer unit tests but has never completed end-to-end statutory deduction testing. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend integrated change control with documented scope and acceptance decisions.
- Recommend correcting capacity issues and rerunning realistic performance tests.
- Recommend sponsor ownership and documented decision gates for regulatory and security issues.
- Recommend business-led end-to-end acceptance and mandatory issue closure or risk approval.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend business-led end-to-end acceptance and mandatory issue closure or risk approval. The relevant control principle is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Representative payroll runs calculate and post deductions correctly before deployment.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend integrated change control with documented scope and acceptance decisions. 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 recommendation is: Recommend business-led end-to-end acceptance and mandatory issue closure or risk approval. The governing distinction is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
B:Recommend correcting capacity issues and rerunning realistic performance tests. 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 recommendation is: Recommend business-led end-to-end acceptance and mandatory issue closure or risk approval. The governing distinction is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
C:Recommend sponsor ownership and documented decision gates for regulatory and security issues. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A mobile-banking project reaches launch without an accountable sponsor for unresolved regulatory requirements. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend business-led end-to-end acceptance and mandatory issue closure or risk approval. The governing distinction is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
Question 24
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: Repeated impossible-travel sign-ins occur before a finance account initiates unusual transfers. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend risk-appropriate multifactor authentication with secure recovery methods.
- Recommend adaptive authentication, rate controls and account protection monitoring.
- Recommend coverage and ingestion-gap alarms alongside threat detections.
- Recommend prompt risk-based incident escalation and containment consideration.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend prompt risk-based incident escalation and containment consideration. The relevant control principle is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Investigation records distinguish confirmed compromise from benign travel anomalies.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend risk-appropriate multifactor authentication with secure recovery methods. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A remote-access gateway accepts a password alone for high-impact production administrators. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend prompt risk-based incident escalation and containment consideration. The governing distinction is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
B:Recommend adaptive authentication, rate controls and account protection monitoring. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A customer portal suffers repeated credential-stuffing attempts from rotating IP addresses. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend prompt risk-based incident escalation and containment consideration. The governing distinction is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
C:Recommend coverage and ingestion-gap alarms alongside threat detections. 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 recommendation is: Recommend prompt risk-based incident escalation and containment consideration. The governing distinction is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
Question 25
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An application uses TLS for client sessions but disables certificate validation when connecting to its payment processor. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management.
- Recommend protected key custody with restricted access and recoverable separation.
- Recommend protected original preservation and analysis on validated working copies.
- Recommend governed indicator lifecycle and context-based tuning.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management. The relevant control principle is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Connections to an untrusted endpoint fail while approved processor sessions work.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recommend protected key custody with restricted access and recoverable separation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A team stores database encryption keys in the same unrestricted repository as encrypted backups. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management. The governing distinction is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.
C:Recommend protected original preservation and analysis on validated working copies. 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 recommendation is: Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management. The governing distinction is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.
D:Recommend governed indicator lifecycle and context-based tuning. 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 recommendation is: Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management. The governing distinction is: Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.
Question 26
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Contractor onboarding omits data-handling training although contractors access classified research files. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline.
- Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope.
- Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded.
- Controlled threshold simulations generate timely alerts and documented response.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded. It addresses security awareness training and programs. Underlying audit concern: Awareness programs must reach all relevant roles before sensitive access is granted.
Incorrect Answers
A:Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline. 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 verification is: Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded. The governing distinction is: Awareness programs must reach all relevant roles before sensitive access is granted.
B:Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A code review tool shows no vulnerabilities after analysts exclude the main authentication module from scanning. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded. The governing distinction is: Awareness programs must reach all relevant roles before sensitive access is granted.
D:Controlled threshold simulations generate timely alerts and documented response. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A fire-suppression system passes annual inspections but a rack's temperature sensors have never alarmed under test. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded. The governing distinction is: Awareness programs must reach all relevant roles before sensitive access is granted.
Question 27
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: Software licenses are renewed using last year's device counts despite major decommissioning. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Compare the current regulator publication, policy inventory and reporting workflow dates.
- Review capacity utilization, workload isolation requirements and asset ownership.
- Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence.
- Inspect target architecture, proposed exception scope and affected trust boundaries.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence. The governing principle is: License governance should reconcile entitlement, actual use and lifecycle changes.
Incorrect Answers
A:Compare the current regulator publication, policy inventory and reporting workflow dates. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A bank's compliance register still lists a superseded regulatory reporting deadline after a rule change. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence. The governing distinction is: License governance should reconcile entitlement, actual use and lifecycle changes.
B:Review capacity utilization, workload isolation requirements and asset ownership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An infrastructure team buys additional servers while idle compatible capacity remains unallocated in another business unit. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence. The governing distinction is: License governance should reconcile entitlement, actual use and lifecycle changes.
D:Inspect target architecture, proposed exception scope and affected trust boundaries. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud architecture exception bypasses the organization's target zero-trust network segmentation without review. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence. The governing distinction is: License governance should reconcile entitlement, actual use and lifecycle changes.
Question 28
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A research team labels every file confidential, generating excessive DLP false positives and routine overrides. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend governed indicator lifecycle and context-based tuning.
- Recommend removing or narrowing the shadowing rule through approved change control.
- Recommend consistent risk-based DLP controls across authorized transfer channels.
- Recommend accurate content classification and accountable exception tuning.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend accurate content classification and accountable exception tuning. The relevant control principle is: Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response. A meaningful follow-up should establish: DLP alerts retain useful coverage while confirmed legitimate workflows have fewer unjustified blocks.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend governed indicator lifecycle and context-based tuning. 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 recommendation is: Recommend accurate content classification and accountable exception tuning. The governing distinction is: Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response.
B:Recommend removing or narrowing the shadowing rule through approved change control. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A firewall has a broad any-to-any allow rule placed ahead of new restrictions for a regulated application. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend accurate content classification and accountable exception tuning. The governing distinction is: Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response.
C:Recommend consistent risk-based DLP controls across authorized transfer channels. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A DLP tool blocks confidential document attachments but ignores similar files uploaded through approved web browsers. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend accurate content classification and accountable exception tuning. The governing distinction is: Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response.
Question 29
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A payment service uses a load balancer, two application servers and one database but its diagram lists only the web servers as critical. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
- Disaster recovery design must cover external connectivity and noncompute dependencies.
- Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment.
- Reliable log correlation depends on consistent time and original event provenance.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components. The corresponding audit procedure is: Map live transactions through compute, middleware, database, network and shared dependencies.
Incorrect Answers
B:Disaster recovery design must cover external connectivity and noncompute dependencies. 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 principle is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components. The governing distinction is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
C:Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment. 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 principle is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components. The governing distinction is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
D:Reliable log correlation depends on consistent time and original event provenance. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Multiple servers use unsynchronized clocks so a transaction appears to complete before it begins. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components. The governing distinction is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
Question 30
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A nightly settlement batch fails halfway but the scheduler marks the entire chain successful. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
- Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing.
- Log retention should align with business, legal, incident and privacy requirements.
- Job automation changes should be authorized, versioned and attributable.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect job exit codes, dependency configuration, completion records and reconciliation totals.
Incorrect Answers
A:Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A major cyber outage is escalated only after normal helpdesk response times expire. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing. The governing distinction is: Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing.
C:Log retention should align with business, legal, incident and privacy requirements. 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 principle is: Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing. The governing distinction is: Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing.
D:Job automation changes should be authorized, versioned and attributable. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An operator can edit scheduled payroll scripts directly in production without independent approval. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing. The governing distinction is: Automated jobs require dependency, exception and completion controls for reliable processing.