Isaca CISA Practice Test 30
Question 290
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A sales system's backup schedule is chosen before the business determines acceptable data loss. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Quantify financial and operational consequences of lost transactions over time.
- Interview process owners, quantify disruption impacts and map dependent systems.
- Map DNS architecture, cache behavior, alternate paths and outage records.
- Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Quantify financial and operational consequences of lost transactions over time. It is more reliable than assuming the claimed control state from discussion alone. The governing principle is: RPO should be derived from business impact and transactional tolerance, not backup convenience.
Incorrect Answers
B:Interview process owners, quantify disruption impacts and map dependent systems. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuity plan treats a rarely used test portal and a critical emergency dispatch system as equally urgent. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Quantify financial and operational consequences of lost transactions over time. The governing distinction is: RPO should be derived from business impact and transactional tolerance, not backup convenience.
C:Map DNS architecture, cache behavior, alternate paths and outage records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A redundant web cluster shares one DNS resolver and becomes inaccessible when that resolver fails. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Quantify financial and operational consequences of lost transactions over time. The governing distinction is: RPO should be derived from business impact and transactional tolerance, not backup convenience.
D:Compare discovery scans, inventory records, host ownership and vendor support status. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An IT inventory lists hundreds of production servers without owners or support end dates. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Quantify financial and operational consequences of lost transactions over time. The governing distinction is: RPO should be derived from business impact and transactional tolerance, not backup convenience.
Question 291
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A continuous monitoring dashboard reports zero failed access attempts because its collection job stopped three days ago. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Check event forwarding, immutable storage controls, access logs and clock accuracy.
- Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records.
- Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals.
- Inspect data model, supplier identifiers, credit indicators and reconciliation counts.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records. The governing principle is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
Incorrect Answers
A:Check event forwarding, immutable storage controls, access logs and clock accuracy. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vendor's audit log is editable by the same administrator whose changes are under investigation. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records. The governing distinction is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
C:Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals. 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 audit step is: Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records. The governing distinction is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
D: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: Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records. The governing distinction is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
Question 292
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An enterprise applies one numeric risk score to cyber, safety and privacy exposures despite different materiality definitions. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions.
- Third-party governance must extend material controls and data obligations to subcontractors.
- Governance should define risk ownership and objective challenge across accountable roles.
- Management owns risk treatment; the auditor evaluates its governance and effectiveness.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect category methodologies, thresholds and reporting assumptions.
Incorrect Answers
B:Third-party governance must extend material controls and data obligations to subcontractors. 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 principle is: Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions. The governing distinction is: Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions.
C:Governance should define risk ownership and objective challenge across accountable roles. 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 principle is: Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions. The governing distinction is: Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions.
D:Management owns risk treatment; the auditor evaluates its governance and effectiveness. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A risk register identifies unpatched critical servers but assigns the mitigation decision to the auditor. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions. The governing distinction is: Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions.
Question 293
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Emergency administrator accounts are exempt from monitoring and are never tested until an outage. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A supervised emergency test succeeds and creates attributable alerts and restoration evidence.
- Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations.
- An unauthorized password-only login to privileged remote access is rejected.
- A controlled upstream power loss leaves essential services within continuity targets.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A supervised emergency test succeeds and creates attributable alerts and restoration evidence. It addresses identity and access management. Underlying audit concern: Break-glass access must be controlled, logged, tested and periodically reauthorized.
Incorrect Answers
B:Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A regional business copies a global security baseline but has no documented exceptions for local privacy restrictions. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A supervised emergency test succeeds and creates attributable alerts and restoration evidence. The governing distinction is: Break-glass access must be controlled, logged, tested and periodically reauthorized.
C:An unauthorized password-only login to privileged remote access is rejected. 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 verification is: A supervised emergency test succeeds and creates attributable alerts and restoration evidence. The governing distinction is: Break-glass access must be controlled, logged, tested and periodically reauthorized.
D:A controlled upstream power loss leaves essential services within continuity targets. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data center's redundant power feeds terminate at the same upstream distribution panel. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A supervised emergency test succeeds and creates attributable alerts and restoration evidence. The governing distinction is: Break-glass access must be controlled, logged, tested and periodically reauthorized.
Question 294
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A redundant web cluster shares one DNS resolver and becomes inaccessible when that resolver fails. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom.
- A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target.
- A simulated severe incident reaches designated decision-makers within defined thresholds.
- Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target. It addresses systems availability and capacity management. Underlying audit concern: Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts.
Incorrect Answers
A:A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A transaction platform runs at high average CPU and has no measured headroom for seasonal spikes. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target. The governing distinction is: Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts.
C:A simulated severe incident reaches designated decision-makers within defined thresholds. 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 verification is: A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target. The governing distinction is: Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts.
D:Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy. 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 verification is: A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target. The governing distinction is: Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts.
Question 295
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A production network permits unrestricted traffic from user workstations to a sensitive payment database. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend restricted protected signing operations and independent key management oversight.
- Recommend prioritized alert ownership, response playbooks and independent oversight.
- Recommend least-privileged segmentation with controlled exception review.
- Recommend role-based training prerequisites and tracked renewal for external users.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend least-privileged segmentation with controlled exception review. The relevant control principle is: Network segmentation should enforce justified traffic paths and reduce lateral movement. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Permitted application transactions work while direct unauthorized client access is denied.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend restricted protected signing operations and independent key management oversight. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A certificate authority's signing key is available to several administrators without dual control. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend least-privileged segmentation with controlled exception review. The governing distinction is: Network segmentation should enforce justified traffic paths and reduce lateral movement.
B:Recommend prioritized alert ownership, response playbooks and independent oversight. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company implements a network intrusion detector but does not assign anyone to triage severe alerts. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend least-privileged segmentation with controlled exception review. The governing distinction is: Network segmentation should enforce justified traffic paths and reduce lateral movement.
D:Recommend role-based training prerequisites and tracked renewal for external users. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Contractor onboarding omits data-handling training although contractors access classified research files. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend least-privileged segmentation with controlled exception review. The governing distinction is: Network segmentation should enforce justified traffic paths and reduce lateral movement.
Question 296
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A lost employee phone still accesses confidential mail because device compliance and remote wipe were never enabled. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend post-renewal service validation and alerting before expiry thresholds.
- Recommend protected original preservation and analysis on validated working copies.
- Recommend compliant device controls and prompt token invalidation or managed wipe.
- Recommend credential replacement and isolated authorized device communication.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend compliant device controls and prompt token invalidation or managed wipe. The relevant control principle is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A lost-device simulation prevents continued corporate access without authorization.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend post-renewal service validation and alerting before expiry thresholds. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal portal outage follows certificate expiration despite an automated renewal job that reported success. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend compliant device controls and prompt token invalidation or managed wipe. The governing distinction is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
B: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 compliant device controls and prompt token invalidation or managed wipe. The governing distinction is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
D:Recommend credential replacement and isolated authorized device communication. 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 recommendation is: Recommend compliant device controls and prompt token invalidation or managed wipe. The governing distinction is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
Question 297
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A system owner provides a screenshot of an access list without a timestamp or source-system identification. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps.
- The workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records.
- A revised audit universe and schedule explicitly cover newly material acquisition risks.
- The final communication accurately distinguishes advice from an independently supported assurance opinion.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:The workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records. It addresses audit evidence collection techniques. Underlying audit concern: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
Incorrect Answers
A: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 workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
C: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 workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
D:The final communication accurately distinguishes advice from an independently supported assurance opinion. 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 verification is: The workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
Question 298
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A shared IT helpdesk closes incidents quickly by marking unresolved requests as user error. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A qualified alternate performs a representative critical task without the primary specialist.
- Sample teams operate the current version and report measurable adherence.
- Reopened incident and false-closure rates are tracked and reduced.
- Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Reopened incident and false-closure rates are tracked and reduced. It addresses quality assurance and quality management of it. Underlying audit concern: Quality measures can be gamed if closure accuracy and user outcomes are not assessed.
Incorrect Answers
A:A qualified alternate performs a representative critical task without the primary specialist. 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 verification is: Reopened incident and false-closure rates are tracked and reduced. The governing distinction is: Quality measures can be gamed if closure accuracy and user outcomes are not assessed.
B:Sample teams operate the current version and report measurable adherence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new corporate service standard is rolled out without training, version control or effectiveness reviews. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reopened incident and false-closure rates are tracked and reduced. The governing distinction is: Quality measures can be gamed if closure accuracy and user outcomes are not assessed.
D:Signed obligations and monitoring evidence cover the organization's critical service needs. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A SaaS provider promises 99.9% uptime in a brochure but the signed agreement contains no measurable recovery commitment. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reopened incident and false-closure rates are tracked and reduced. The governing distinction is: Quality measures can be gamed if closure accuracy and user outcomes are not assessed.
Question 299
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: Procurement selects the lowest-cost cloud vendor while ignoring prior security incidents and regulatory audit rights. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Escalate the unauthorized processing and require approved subprocessor controls or remediation.
- Recommend a jurisdiction-specific obligation register and tested control mapping for the service.
- Recommend risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions.
- Recommend correcting its label and enforcing corresponding access and handling requirements.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions. The relevant control principle is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone. A meaningful follow-up should establish: The selected vendor meets mandatory criteria or has approved documented mitigation.
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 risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions. The governing distinction is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
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 risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions. The governing distinction is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
D:Recommend correcting its label and enforcing corresponding access and handling requirements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A finance spreadsheet contains confidential salary data but is labeled public in the enterprise catalog. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-weighted supplier evaluation with documented approval of material exceptions. The governing distinction is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
Question 300
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A revoked supplier certificate remains trusted by an application because revocation checks are disabled. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend post-renewal service validation and alerting before expiry thresholds.
- Recommend appropriate revocation validation and monitored failure handling.
- Recommend controlled validation and risk-ranked remediation rather than blind closure.
- Recommend complementary least-privilege access, export monitoring and key governance.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend appropriate revocation validation and monitored failure handling. The relevant control principle is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements. A meaningful follow-up should establish: The application rejects a known revoked test certificate while accepting valid trusted peers.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend post-renewal service validation and alerting before expiry thresholds. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal portal outage follows certificate expiration despite an automated renewal job that reported success. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend appropriate revocation validation and monitored failure handling. The governing distinction is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
C:Recommend controlled validation and risk-ranked remediation rather than blind closure. 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 recommendation is: Recommend appropriate revocation validation and monitored failure handling. The governing distinction is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
D:Recommend complementary least-privilege access, export monitoring and key governance. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A database encrypts storage disks but application administrators can export plaintext sensitive records without monitoring. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend appropriate revocation validation and monitored failure handling. The governing distinction is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.