Isaca CISA Practice Test 47
Question 460
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A red-team exercise reports success based on one simulated phishing click without demonstrating access or business impact. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope.
- Test evidence demonstrates authorized scope and no unauthorized production disruption.
- Regional implementations satisfy both corporate security intent and applicable legal obligations.
- Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope. It addresses security testing tools and techniques. Underlying audit concern: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
Incorrect Answers
B:Test evidence demonstrates authorized scope and no unauthorized production disruption. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A penetration test exercises production authentication without authorization or a recovery plan. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope. The governing distinction is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
C: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: The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope. The governing distinction is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
D:Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits. 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 verification is: The report links each claimed outcome to reproducible evidence and approved scope. The governing distinction is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
Question 461
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Repeated impossible-travel sign-ins occur before a finance account initiates unusual transfers. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective.
- Unauthorized snapshot downloads are blocked and authorized operations are logged.
- Investigation records distinguish confirmed compromise from benign travel anomalies.
- Simulated distributed login abuse is throttled without blocking legitimate customers excessively.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Investigation records distinguish confirmed compromise from benign travel anomalies. It addresses information system attack methods and techniques. Underlying audit concern: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
Incorrect Answers
A:Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: After a malware outbreak is closed, identical infections recur because no root-cause or control improvement work is assigned. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Investigation records distinguish confirmed compromise from benign travel anomalies. The governing distinction is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
B:Unauthorized snapshot downloads are blocked and authorized operations are logged. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A virtualization administrator can snapshot and download regulated production virtual machines without oversight. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Investigation records distinguish confirmed compromise from benign travel anomalies. The governing distinction is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
D:Simulated distributed login abuse is throttled without blocking legitimate customers excessively. 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 verification is: Investigation records distinguish confirmed compromise from benign travel anomalies. The governing distinction is: An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
Question 462
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An agile team delivers features every sprint but security stories are never included in the product backlog. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Sprint samples show security controls implemented and tested before acceptance.
- Released features and controls map to current approved requirements and tests.
- Representative payroll runs calculate and post deductions correctly before deployment.
- The steering committee sees verified readiness, risk and dependency status before decisions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Sprint samples show security controls implemented and tested before acceptance. It addresses system development methodologies. Underlying audit concern: An iterative development method still requires risks and controls within its delivery process.
Incorrect Answers
B:Released features and controls map to current approved requirements and tests. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A waterfall project signs off design once, then production requirements change without design traceability. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sprint samples show security controls implemented and tested before acceptance. The governing distinction is: An iterative development method still requires risks and controls within its delivery process.
C:Representative payroll runs calculate and post deductions correctly before deployment. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payroll release passes developer unit tests but has never completed end-to-end statutory deduction testing. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sprint samples show security controls implemented and tested before acceptance. The governing distinction is: An iterative development method still requires risks and controls within its delivery process.
D:The steering committee sees verified readiness, risk and dependency status before decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A program steering committee receives status reports from one vendor but has no visibility into independent testing delays. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sprint samples show security controls implemented and tested before acceptance. The governing distinction is: An iterative development method still requires risks and controls within its delivery process.
Question 463
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A new enterprise resource planning program frequently expands requirements without cost, risk or schedule review. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- The steering committee sees verified readiness, risk and dependency status before decisions.
- Pilot data flows reconcile successfully against real-world mapping and exception requirements.
- Follow-up metrics demonstrate whether the approved onboarding outcome is achieved.
- Approved changes reconcile to updated delivery plans and traceable decisions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Approved changes reconcile to updated delivery plans and traceable decisions. It addresses project governance and management. Underlying audit concern: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
Incorrect Answers
A:The steering committee sees verified readiness, risk and dependency status before decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A program steering committee receives status reports from one vendor but has no visibility into independent testing delays. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Approved changes reconcile to updated delivery plans and traceable decisions. The governing distinction is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
B:Pilot data flows reconcile successfully against real-world mapping and exception requirements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vendor's product demonstration uses sanitized sample data while the production workload needs complex legacy mappings. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Approved changes reconcile to updated delivery plans and traceable decisions. The governing distinction is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
C:Follow-up metrics demonstrate whether the approved onboarding outcome is achieved. 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 verification is: Approved changes reconcile to updated delivery plans and traceable decisions. The governing distinction is: Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
Question 464
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Management reports 99.99% uptime by excluding unscheduled customer-impacting outages from the metric. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Production inventory confirms patch coverage or properly governed mitigation.
- Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules.
- A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target.
- An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules. It addresses systems availability and capacity management. Underlying audit concern: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Production inventory confirms patch coverage or properly governed mitigation. 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 verification is: Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules. The governing distinction is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
C:A DNS component outage does not exceed the agreed service interruption target. 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 verification is: Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules. The governing distinction is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
D:An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payment service uses a load balancer, two application servers and one database but its diagram lists only the web servers as critical. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules. The governing distinction is: Availability calculations require consistently defined scope, denominator and exclusions.
Question 465
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An auditor cannot decide whether to review a high-impact legacy billing interface because no recent incidents are recorded. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness.
- Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
- Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk.
- A nonrepresentative selection can lead to unsupported conclusions about the entire population.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk. The corresponding audit procedure is: Collect business criticality, interface volume, control maturity, change history and incident reporting quality.
Incorrect Answers
A:Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness. 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 principle is: Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk. The governing distinction is: Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk.
B:Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. 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 principle is: Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk. The governing distinction is: Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk.
D:A nonrepresentative selection can lead to unsupported conclusions about the entire population. 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 principle is: Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk. The governing distinction is: Absence of reported incidents is not proof of low inherent or residual risk.
Question 466
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A data processing vendor consistently misses recovery times but management pays service credits without correcting the cause. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk.
- Severe incidents require priority-based classification and timely escalation paths.
- Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.
- Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk. The corresponding audit procedure is: Analyze repeated breaches, business impact, root causes and contractual remedies.
Incorrect Answers
B: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: Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk. The governing distinction is: Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk.
C: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: Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk. The governing distinction is: Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk.
D:Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal support agreement omits escalation responsibilities for incidents spanning two suppliers. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk. The governing distinction is: Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk.
Question 467
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A security team isolates a suspicious server without informing its critical care business owner, interrupting clinical operations. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review notification obligations, escalation matrix, incident classification and response records.
- Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths.
- Review regulatory differences, baseline requirements, risk assessments and exception approvals.
- Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives. The governing principle is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review notification obligations, escalation matrix, incident classification and response records. 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 audit step is: Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives. The governing distinction is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
B:Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths. 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 audit step is: Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives. The governing distinction is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
C:Review regulatory differences, baseline requirements, risk assessments and exception approvals. 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 audit step is: Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives. The governing distinction is: Containment decisions must consider urgency, safety, business impact and authorized coordination.
Question 468
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An emergency patch goes live without a rollback plan or verification of required interfaces. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Configuration changes must remain controlled, traceable and aligned with approved baselines.
- Feasibility studies should test technical, operational and compliance constraints before selection.
- Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation.
- Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect emergency approval, impact assessment, configuration snapshots and recovery steps.
Incorrect Answers
A:Configuration changes must remain controlled, traceable and aligned with approved baselines. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A production release changes database permissions manually after the reviewed deployment package was approved. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation. The governing distinction is: Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation.
B:Feasibility studies should test technical, operational and compliance constraints before selection. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A hospital chooses a cloud imaging service without confirming network reliability or clinical response needs. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation. The governing distinction is: Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation.
D:Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A bank converts 20 years of loan records into a new core system and reconciles only total record counts. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation. The governing distinction is: Expedited release processes still require risk checks, fallback and post-change validation.
Question 469
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An investigator copies a suspect laptop disk without recording who handled it or whether the image changed. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers.
- Inspect reviewer role, HR roster, role descriptions and sample revocation outcomes.
- Inspect original storage, collection method, metadata changes and available copies.
- Review regulatory differences, baseline requirements, risk assessments and exception approvals.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers. The governing principle is: Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis.
Incorrect Answers
B:Inspect reviewer role, HR roster, role descriptions and sample revocation outcomes. 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 audit step is: Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers. The governing distinction is: Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis.
C:Inspect original storage, collection method, metadata changes and available 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 audit step is: Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers. The governing distinction is: Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis.
D:Review regulatory differences, baseline requirements, risk assessments and exception approvals. 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 audit step is: Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers. The governing distinction is: Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis.
Question 470
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A payment service uses a load balancer, two application servers and one database but its diagram lists only the web servers as critical. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule.
- An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan.
- A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom.
- Representative warehouse transactions continue correctly after the planned router change.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan. It addresses it components. Underlying audit concern: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
Incorrect Answers
A:Conflicting updates resolve consistently with an auditable business rule. 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 verification is: An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan. The governing distinction is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
C: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: An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan. The governing distinction is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
D:Representative warehouse transactions continue correctly after the planned router change. 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 verification is: An end-to-end fault analysis covers each critical dependency and its recovery plan. The governing distinction is: End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.