Isaca CISA Practice Test 35
Question 340
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A business unit requests that internal audit review only controls selected by its system owner. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances.
- Reprioritize the plan toward the higher-risk system and record the risk rationale.
- Recommend an appropriately authorized preventive change control with detective review as a complementary layer.
- Set defensible risk-based objectives and seek audit leadership approval for any scope restriction.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Set defensible risk-based objectives and seek audit leadership approval for any scope restriction. The relevant control principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Engagement scope and limitation disclosures show material risks were not silently omitted.
Incorrect Answers
A:Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A financial reporting controls audit tests only the cloud provider's availability status but ignores the customer's application controls. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Set defensible risk-based objectives and seek audit leadership approval for any scope restriction. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
B:Reprioritize the plan toward the higher-risk system and record the risk rationale. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The annual audit plan gives equal effort to a low-risk intranet and a newly acquired payment processing platform. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Set defensible risk-based objectives and seek audit leadership approval for any scope restriction. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
C:Recommend an appropriately authorized preventive change control with detective review as a complementary layer. 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 recommendation is: Set defensible risk-based objectives and seek audit leadership approval for any scope restriction. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
Question 341
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A regional business copies a global security baseline but has no documented exceptions for local privacy restrictions. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Material risks link to approved controls and measurable evidence of effective operation.
- Reviews identify inappropriate entitlements and revocation actions complete promptly.
- Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations.
- An unauthorized password-only login to privileged remote access is rejected.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations. It addresses information asset security frameworks, standards, and guidelines. Underlying audit concern: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.
Incorrect Answers
A:Material risks link to approved controls and measurable evidence of effective operation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A technology subsidiary adopts a security checklist that cannot be traced to its enterprise risk appetite or legal obligations. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations. The governing distinction is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.
B:Reviews identify inappropriate entitlements and revocation actions complete promptly. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A quarterly access certification is completed by a system administrator who cannot identify the employees' current business responsibilities. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations. The governing distinction is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.
D: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: Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations. The governing distinction is: Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.
Question 342
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An audit team changes sampling procedures each quarter without documenting why results are no longer comparable. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure.
- Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties.
- Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training.
- Seek bridge evidence and separately test any material uncovered period or control.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training. The relevant control principle is: Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Later engagements show consistent method application and explain justified departures.
Incorrect Answers
A:Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Post-audit follow-up marks a critical password weakness closed solely because management sent a completion email. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training. The governing distinction is: Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement.
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: Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training. The governing distinction is: Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement.
D:Seek bridge evidence and separately test any material uncovered period or control. 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 recommendation is: Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training. The governing distinction is: Audit quality programs should evaluate consistency, methodology and continuous improvement.
Question 343
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An auditor flags duplicated supplier invoices by invoice number alone and ignores vendor identifiers and credit notes. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually.
- Use approved minimal-data or masked analysis within a controlled audit environment.
- Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance.
- Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually. The relevant control principle is: Analytics rules need valid business keys and exception handling to avoid false conclusions. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Confirmed duplicates and legitimate reversals are separately documented and reproducible.
Incorrect Answers
B:Use approved minimal-data or masked analysis within a controlled audit environment. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor exports personally identifiable records to an unsecured laptop for analytics testing. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually. The governing distinction is: Analytics rules need valid business keys and exception handling to avoid false conclusions.
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: Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually. The governing distinction is: Analytics rules need valid business keys and exception handling to avoid false conclusions.
D:Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A monitoring alert is generated for suspicious transfers, but no owner is assigned to investigate or close it. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually. The governing distinction is: Analytics rules need valid business keys and exception handling to avoid false conclusions.
Question 344
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A new enterprise resource planning program frequently expands requirements without cost, risk or schedule review. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments.
- Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records.
- Trace refund abuse scenarios, authorization roles and transaction integrity needs.
- Inspect emergency approval, impact assessment, configuration snapshots and recovery steps.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records. The governing principle is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments. 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 audit step is: Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records. The governing distinction is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
C:Trace refund abuse scenarios, authorization roles and transaction integrity needs. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new web checkout design addresses user experience but fails to define controls for unauthorized refund changes. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records. The governing distinction is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
D:Inspect emergency approval, impact assessment, configuration snapshots and recovery steps. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An emergency patch goes live without a rollback plan or verification of required interfaces. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare original baseline, requested variations, impact estimates and approval records. The governing distinction is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
Question 345
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An urgent firewall change is deployed without a ticket and later cannot be attributed to an approver. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Patch governance requires risk-based prioritization, deployment tracking and exception management.
- Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review.
- Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
- Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare firewall revision logs, emergency approval procedures and operational impact.
Incorrect Answers
A:Patch governance requires risk-based prioritization, deployment tracking and exception management. 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 principle is: Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review. The governing distinction is: Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review.
C:Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management reports 99.99% uptime by excluding unscheduled customer-impacting outages from the metric. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review. The governing distinction is: Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review.
D: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: Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review. The governing distinction is: Emergency changes need accelerated but documented authorization and retrospective review.
Question 346
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A service provider requests full identity documents when a masked identifier would satisfy a support task. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend correcting its label and enforcing corresponding access and handling requirements.
- Recommend privacy assessment and purpose-bound collection with proportionate retention controls.
- Escalate interpretation to the authorized legal owner and align the retention policy accordingly.
- Recommend restricted or masked disclosure and revised processor access conditions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend restricted or masked disclosure and revised processor access conditions. The relevant control principle is: Privacy controls should minimize personal data shared with processors. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Support workflow succeeds without exposing unnecessary identity data.
Incorrect Answers
A: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 restricted or masked disclosure and revised processor access conditions. The governing distinction is: Privacy controls should minimize personal data shared with processors.
B:Recommend privacy assessment and purpose-bound collection with proportionate retention controls. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A marketing platform collects customer location data without a documented lawful purpose or retention period. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend restricted or masked disclosure and revised processor access conditions. The governing distinction is: Privacy controls should minimize personal data shared with processors.
C:Escalate interpretation to the authorized legal owner and align the retention policy accordingly. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The legal team interprets a contractual data retention clause differently from IT's automatic deletion schedule. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend restricted or masked disclosure and revised processor access conditions. The governing distinction is: Privacy controls should minimize personal data shared with processors.
Question 347
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A new security control requires two operators to approve destructive data deletion, but both approvals can use one shared account. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics.
- Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals.
- Inspect account-change workflow, approver segregation and exception follow-up records.
- Reconcile HR departures and access history against the access extract's coverage dates.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals. The governing principle is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.
Incorrect Answers
A:Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor samples only Monday transactions to conclude that weekend payments were controlled effectively. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals. The governing distinction is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.
C: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 identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals. The governing distinction is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.
D:Reconcile HR departures and access history against the access extract's coverage dates. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A database access audit receives a file containing only current active users although it must assess leavers over the last quarter. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect identity binding, approval logs and whether one person can trigger both approvals. The governing distinction is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.
Question 348
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A highly available application uses only one privileged administrator who is unavailable during a holiday. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Subsequent database changes preserve required reporting functionality or roll back safely.
- A controlled DNS failure exercise meets continuity expectations or documents accepted gaps.
- Business totals reconcile before and after authorized schema changes.
- A qualified alternate restores service without bypassing authorization or audit trails.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:A qualified alternate restores service without bypassing authorization or audit trails. It addresses system and operational resilience. Underlying audit concern: Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology.
Incorrect Answers
A:Subsequent database changes preserve required reporting functionality or roll back safely. 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 verification is: A qualified alternate restores service without bypassing authorization or audit trails. The governing distinction is: Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology.
B:A controlled DNS failure exercise meets continuity expectations or documents accepted gaps. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A supplier dependency map omits a critical cloud DNS service used by every customer-facing application. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A qualified alternate restores service without bypassing authorization or audit trails. The governing distinction is: Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology.
C:Business totals reconcile before and after authorized schema changes. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A DBA changes production schema directly, causing an analytics extract to return wrong totals. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A qualified alternate restores service without bypassing authorization or audit trails. The governing distinction is: Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology.
Question 349
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An accounts-payable supervisor can both create vendors and approve their first payments. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
- Strong authentication should match privileged remote access risk and enterprise policy.
- Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions.
- Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare role matrices, effective privileges, transaction history and compensating reviews.
Incorrect Answers
A:Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact. 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 principle is: Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions. The governing distinction is: Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions.
B:Strong authentication should match privileged remote access risk and enterprise policy. 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 principle is: Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions. The governing distinction is: Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions.
C:Incident governance should define regulatory communication and accountable legal decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An organization discovers a reportable personal-data breach but no one knows who can authorize external notification. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions. The governing distinction is: Conflicting business permissions create opportunities for unauthorized transactions.
Question 350
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An enterprise calls backups successful because jobs complete, but no recent restoration test has been performed. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests.
- An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation.
- Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site.
- Restored data is complete, usable and recovered within approved objectives.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Restored data is complete, usable and recovered within approved objectives. It addresses data backup, storage, and restoration. Underlying audit concern: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.
Incorrect Answers
A:Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests. 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 verification is: Restored data is complete, usable and recovered within approved objectives. The governing distinction is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.
B:An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation. 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 verification is: Restored data is complete, usable and recovered within approved objectives. The governing distinction is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.
C:Trained staff complete representative customer calls from the alternate site. 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 verification is: Restored data is complete, usable and recovered within approved objectives. The governing distinction is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.