Isaca CISA Practice Test 31
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.
Question 301
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A configuration database lists a retired server as the active owner of a production application. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Compare schema limits, payload samples, rejected records and target field mapping.
- Reconcile automated discovery, service dependencies and change history.
- Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies.
- Review vulnerability severity, exposed assets, patch schedules and documented deferrals.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Reconcile automated discovery, service dependencies and change history. The governing principle is: Configuration accuracy is necessary for impact analysis and controlled service changes.
Incorrect Answers
A:Compare schema limits, payload samples, rejected records and target field mapping. 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 audit step is: Reconcile automated discovery, service dependencies and change history. The governing distinction is: Configuration accuracy is necessary for impact analysis and controlled service changes.
C:Compare SLA definitions, user-impacting incidents and critical application dependencies. 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 audit step is: Reconcile automated discovery, service dependencies and change history. The governing distinction is: Configuration accuracy is necessary for impact analysis and controlled service changes.
D:Review vulnerability severity, exposed assets, patch schedules and documented deferrals. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A security patch is applied on test servers but production remains vulnerable for months without risk approval. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile automated discovery, service dependencies and change history. The governing distinction is: Configuration accuracy is necessary for impact analysis and controlled service changes.
Question 302
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: Two systems independently update the same customer address, producing unpredictable last-write results. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Business impact analysis should prioritize services using documented impact over time.
- Continuity communication should address external dependencies and affected stakeholders.
- Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
- Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules. The corresponding audit procedure is: Trace event timestamps, source authority, synchronization paths and mismatched records.
Incorrect Answers
A:Business impact analysis should prioritize services using documented impact over time. 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 principle is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules. The governing distinction is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
B:Continuity communication should address external dependencies and affected stakeholders. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A regional outage exercise reveals that business partners were never included in the communications tree. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules. The governing distinction is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
D:Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud event bus drops messages during an outage and consuming systems never replay them. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules. The governing distinction is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
Question 303
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A system owner provides a screenshot of an access list without a timestamp or source-system identification. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Inspect account-change workflow, approver segregation and exception follow-up records.
- Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures.
- Check event forwarding, immutable storage controls, access logs and clock accuracy.
- Inspect extraction provenance, timestamps, privileges used and original system records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Inspect extraction provenance, timestamps, privileges used and original system records. The governing principle is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inspect account-change workflow, approver segregation and exception follow-up records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payroll system uses post-payment anomaly reports but has no approval requirement for changing bank accounts. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect extraction provenance, timestamps, privileges used and original system records. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
B:Inspect review notes, exception disposition, supervisor sign-offs and unresolved procedures. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit manager signs the report although a junior tester's exceptions have not received independent review. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect extraction provenance, timestamps, privileges used and original system records. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
C: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: Inspect extraction provenance, timestamps, privileges used and original system records. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
Question 304
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A code review tool shows no vulnerabilities after analysts exclude the main authentication module from scanning. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review MDM coverage, token expiry, remote-wipe procedures and mailbox sessions.
- Define incident window, available provider logs, retention limits and relevant account events.
- Compare source inventory, tool scope exclusions, build artifacts and risk areas.
- Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Compare source inventory, tool scope exclusions, build artifacts and risk areas. The governing principle is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review MDM coverage, token expiry, remote-wipe procedures and mailbox sessions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A lost employee phone still accesses confidential mail because device compliance and remote wipe were never enabled. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare source inventory, tool scope exclusions, build artifacts and risk areas. The governing distinction is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
B:Define incident window, available provider logs, retention limits and relevant account events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud incident investigator exports only the latest activity logs, omitting records from the suspected initial compromise. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare source inventory, tool scope exclusions, build artifacts and risk areas. The governing distinction is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
D:Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A red-team exercise reports success based on one simulated phishing click without demonstrating access or business impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare source inventory, tool scope exclusions, build artifacts and risk areas. The governing distinction is: Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
Question 305
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Two systems independently update the same customer address, producing unpredictable last-write results. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Full valid descriptions survive transfer and oversized payloads generate tracked exceptions.
- Unowned and unsupported assets are identified and assigned timely disposition.
- Every emergency deployment links to an accountable approver and completed review.
- Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule. It addresses system interfaces. Underlying audit concern: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
Incorrect Answers
A: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: Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule. The governing distinction is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
B:Unowned and unsupported assets are identified and assigned timely disposition. 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 verification is: Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule. The governing distinction is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
C:Every emergency deployment links to an accountable approver and completed review. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An urgent firewall change is deployed without a ticket and later cannot be attributed to an approver. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule. The governing distinction is: Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
Question 306
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An inventory API responds successfully while silently truncating long product descriptions during integration. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend input validation, exception handling and end-to-end reconciliation.
- Recommend an authoritative owner and controlled update conflict handling.
- Recommend impact analysis and coordinated release testing for dependent services.
- Recommend sustained remediation, contingency planning and governance escalation.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend input validation, exception handling and end-to-end reconciliation. The relevant control principle is: Interface testing must verify semantic accuracy and completeness, not only transport success. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Full valid descriptions survive transfer and oversized payloads generate tracked exceptions.
Incorrect Answers
B: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 input validation, exception handling and end-to-end reconciliation. The governing distinction is: Interface testing must verify semantic accuracy and completeness, not only transport success.
C:Recommend impact analysis and coordinated release testing for dependent services. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A routine database update causes outages because no dependency assessment included reporting services. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend input validation, exception handling and end-to-end reconciliation. The governing distinction is: Interface testing must verify semantic accuracy and completeness, not only transport success.
D:Recommend sustained remediation, contingency planning and governance escalation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data processing vendor consistently misses recovery times but management pays service credits without correcting the cause. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend input validation, exception handling and end-to-end reconciliation. The governing distinction is: Interface testing must verify semantic accuracy and completeness, not only transport success.
Question 307
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An attacker encrypts production files and online backups because both use the same compromised admin identity. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules.
- Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
- Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions.
- Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design.
Incorrect Answers
A:Interfaces need defined data ownership and conflict-resolution rules. 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 principle is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
B:Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company copies database files nightly while transactions remain active, producing inconsistent backups. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
C:Effective inventory management supports accountable maintenance, security and lifecycle decisions. 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 principle is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
Question 308
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A helpdesk repeatedly reopens application errors but closes each ticket without investigating a shared underlying defect. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Active licenses, contract costs and actual deployments agree within documented exceptions.
- Repeated incidents decline after a verified fix and problem record closure.
- A sample transaction completes correctly and accountable users confirm recovery.
- Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Repeated incidents decline after a verified fix and problem record closure. It addresses problem and incident management. Underlying audit concern: Problem management seeks root causes and prevention of recurring incidents.
Incorrect Answers
A:Active licenses, contract costs and actual deployments agree within documented exceptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company continues paying software maintenance for applications deleted during a consolidation. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Repeated incidents decline after a verified fix and problem record closure. The governing distinction is: Problem management seeks root causes and prevention of recurring incidents.
C:A sample transaction completes correctly and accountable users confirm recovery. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Operations declares an incident resolved because a server restarted, although business transactions remain stuck. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Repeated incidents decline after a verified fix and problem record closure. The governing distinction is: Problem management seeks root causes and prevention of recurring incidents.
D:Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm. 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 verification is: Repeated incidents decline after a verified fix and problem record closure. The governing distinction is: Problem management seeks root causes and prevention of recurring incidents.
Question 309
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A lost employee phone still accesses confidential mail because device compliance and remote wipe were never enabled. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Authentication source changes are within the scanned and independently reviewed scope.
- A lost-device simulation prevents continued corporate access without authorization.
- Untrusted office endpoints cannot administer sensors and default passwords no longer work.
- Dashboards distinguish policy existence from verified control performance.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A lost-device simulation prevents continued corporate access without authorization. It addresses mobile, wireless, and internet-of-things devices. Underlying audit concern: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
Incorrect Answers
A: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: A lost-device simulation prevents continued corporate access without authorization. The governing distinction is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
C: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: A lost-device simulation prevents continued corporate access without authorization. The governing distinction is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
D:Dashboards distinguish policy existence from verified control performance. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A compliance dashboard reports all policies published but does not measure whether their security controls operate. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A lost-device simulation prevents continued corporate access without authorization. The governing distinction is: Mobile management should enforce enrollment, encryption and revocation when devices are lost.
Question 310
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: After a new billing platform launches, unresolved temporary broad administrator permissions are treated as permanent. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Compare approved business case, operational metrics, costs and observed user experience.
- Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records.
- Review privileged access, temporary exceptions, deployment checklist and risk acceptance.
- Examine backlog prioritization, definition of done, security tests and sprint acceptance.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Review privileged access, temporary exceptions, deployment checklist and risk acceptance. The governing principle is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
Incorrect Answers
A:Compare approved business case, operational metrics, costs and observed user experience. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new HR system meets its technical go-live date but fails the promised reduction in onboarding time. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review privileged access, temporary exceptions, deployment checklist and risk acceptance. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
B:Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new enterprise resource planning program frequently expands requirements without cost, risk or schedule review. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review privileged access, temporary exceptions, deployment checklist and risk acceptance. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.
D:Examine backlog prioritization, definition of done, security tests and sprint acceptance. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An agile team delivers features every sprint but security stories are never included in the product backlog. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review privileged access, temporary exceptions, deployment checklist and risk acceptance. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation assurance should confirm transition controls and residual exposures are closed.