Isaca CISA Practice Test 6
Question 50
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A data center's redundant power feeds terminate at the same upstream distribution panel. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend a risk-based design review and genuinely independent critical power paths.
- Recommend monitored and secured emergency access consistent with life-safety requirements.
- Recommend prioritized alert ownership, response playbooks and independent oversight.
- Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend a risk-based design review and genuinely independent critical power paths. The relevant control principle is: Electrical resilience depends on independence of power paths and verified failure domains. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A controlled upstream power loss leaves essential services within continuity targets.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recommend monitored and secured emergency access consistent with life-safety requirements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A server room uses badge access but an unattended emergency door allows unrecorded entry. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend a risk-based design review and genuinely independent critical power paths. The governing distinction is: Electrical resilience depends on independence of power paths and verified failure domains.
C: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 a risk-based design review and genuinely independent critical power paths. The governing distinction is: Electrical resilience depends on independence of power paths and verified failure domains.
D:Recommend proper server identity validation and controlled certificate lifecycle management. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An application uses TLS for client sessions but disables certificate validation when connecting to its payment processor. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend a risk-based design review and genuinely independent critical power paths. The governing distinction is: Electrical resilience depends on independence of power paths and verified failure domains.
Question 51
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A change program reports all projects green by budget but ignores delayed security deliverables. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls.
- Executive dashboards disclose late security gates alongside spending status.
- Dashboard reporting identifies failed customer transactions despite healthy host metrics.
- Sample requests locate applicable systems and receive complete timely disposition.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Executive dashboards disclose late security gates alongside spending status. It addresses it performance monitoring and reporting. Underlying audit concern: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
Incorrect Answers
A:Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls. 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 verification is: Executive dashboards disclose late security gates alongside spending status. The governing distinction is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
C:Dashboard reporting identifies failed customer transactions despite healthy host metrics. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The IT dashboard shows 100 percent server uptime while customers report failed checkout transactions. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Executive dashboards disclose late security gates alongside spending status. The governing distinction is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
D:Sample requests locate applicable systems and receive complete timely disposition. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An organization receives data subject requests but cannot locate personal records spread across cloud and on-premise systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Executive dashboards disclose late security gates alongside spending status. The governing distinction is: Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
Question 52
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A SaaS provider promises 99.9% uptime in a brochure but the signed agreement contains no measurable recovery commitment. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Examine due diligence, control reports, incident history and mandatory obligations.
- Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence.
- Compare contract clauses, business impact analysis, vendor performance history and service credits.
- Review rollout approvals, staff training, process owners and version adoption.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Compare contract clauses, business impact analysis, vendor performance history and service credits. The governing principle is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Incorrect Answers
A:Examine due diligence, control reports, incident history and mandatory obligations. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Procurement selects the lowest-cost cloud vendor while ignoring prior security incidents and regulatory audit rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare contract clauses, business impact analysis, vendor performance history and service credits. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
B:Compare vendor entitlements, deployments, retirements and usage evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Software licenses are renewed using last year's device counts despite major decommissioning. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare contract clauses, business impact analysis, vendor performance history and service credits. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
D:Review rollout approvals, staff training, process owners and version adoption. 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 audit step is: Compare contract clauses, business impact analysis, vendor performance history and service credits. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Question 53
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: Management offers ten handpicked successful failover demonstrations as evidence that every critical service has tested recovery. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Check reviewer identities, permissions, timestamps and supervisory quality policy.
- Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins.
- Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics.
- Obtain the complete critical-service inventory and independent exercise records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Obtain the complete critical-service inventory and independent exercise records. The governing principle is: Judgmentally selected favorable examples cannot support a population-wide effectiveness conclusion.
Incorrect Answers
A:Check reviewer identities, permissions, timestamps and supervisory quality policy. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit director relies on peer sign-offs that were completed by the same person who prepared each working paper. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Obtain the complete critical-service inventory and independent exercise records. The governing distinction is: Judgmentally selected favorable examples cannot support a population-wide effectiveness conclusion.
B:Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit query joins employee and privilege tables but mistakenly duplicates rows for users with multiple roles. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Obtain the complete critical-service inventory and independent exercise records. The governing distinction is: Judgmentally selected favorable examples cannot support a population-wide effectiveness conclusion.
C: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: Obtain the complete critical-service inventory and independent exercise records. The governing distinction is: Judgmentally selected favorable examples cannot support a population-wide effectiveness conclusion.
Question 54
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A cyber policy states that access must be secure but provides no enforceable standard for privileged identities. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
- Inconsistent procedures can weaken implementation of a common governance control.
- Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement.
- Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review policy hierarchy, technical baseline, role ownership and exception approvals.
Incorrect Answers
A:Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An IT strategy document lists new tools but has no targets for customer availability or service costs. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement. The governing distinction is: Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement.
B:Inconsistent procedures can weaken implementation of a common governance control. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Regional IT teams follow conflicting change-control procedures even though one enterprise policy applies. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement. The governing distinction is: Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement.
D:Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements. 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 principle is: Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement. The governing distinction is: Policies require supporting measurable standards, procedures and accountable enforcement.
Question 55
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A mobile-banking project reaches launch without an accountable sponsor for unresolved regulatory requirements. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes.
- Confidentiality does not replace integrity and completeness controls for converted data.
- Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
- Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review steering committee minutes, stage-gate decisions and responsibility assignments.
Incorrect Answers
A:Project change governance should assess baseline implications before approving scope changes. 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 principle is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk. The governing distinction is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
B:Confidentiality does not replace integrity and completeness controls for converted data. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data migration design encrypts transfers but does not detect missing or duplicated customer records. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk. The governing distinction is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
D:Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An automation business case counts staff savings but omits new licenses, monitoring and transition costs. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk. The governing distinction is: Project governance requires clear business ownership and formal acceptance of material risk.
Question 56
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A team stores database encryption keys in the same unrestricted repository as encrypted backups. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation.
- IoT assets require inventory, secure identity and segmentation proportionate to exposure.
- Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
- An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths.
Incorrect Answers
A:Encryption without authenticating the peer can permit interception or impersonation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An application uses TLS for client sessions but disables certificate validation when connecting to its payment processor. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security. The governing distinction is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
B:IoT assets require inventory, secure identity and segmentation proportionate to exposure. 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 principle is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security. The governing distinction is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
D:An attack sequence should be assessed using corroborated indicators and business impact. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Repeated impossible-travel sign-ins occur before a finance account initiates unusual transfers. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security. The governing distinction is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
Question 57
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An attacker encrypts production files and online backups because both use the same compromised admin identity. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend application-consistent backup and recovery sequencing for the database.
- Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration.
- Recommend idempotent processing or controlled reconciliation before restart.
- Recommend reviewed schema deployment and regression validation for dependent consumers.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration. The relevant control principle is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A compromised production identity cannot erase every recovery copy and restore tests pass.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend application-consistent backup and recovery sequencing for the database. 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 recommendation is: Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
C:Recommend idempotent processing or controlled reconciliation before restart. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A financial transfer job can be rerun after timeout and processes the same payment twice. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
D:Recommend reviewed schema deployment and regression validation for dependent consumers. 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 recommendation is: Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
Question 58
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A multinational cloud project assumes a control compliant in one country automatically satisfies every jurisdiction in which data is processed. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Data samples reflect the approved retention decision without unapproved loss or overretention.
- Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules.
- Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls.
- Downstream consumers use a documented authoritative source with measured consistency.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls. It addresses laws, regulations, and industry standards. Underlying audit concern: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
Incorrect Answers
A:Data samples reflect the approved retention decision without unapproved loss or overretention. 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 verification is: Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls. The governing distinction is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
B:Records demonstrate approved legal basis, limited fields and enforced deletion schedules. 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 verification is: Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls. The governing distinction is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
D:Downstream consumers use a documented authoritative source with measured consistency. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Multiple business units publish different values for the same customer account status without a nominated data steward. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Each data flow and regulated activity maps to approved obligations and demonstrated controls. The governing distinction is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
Question 59
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A marketing platform collects customer location data without a documented lawful purpose or retention period. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Trace collection notices, consent or other lawful basis, data recipients and retention rules.
- Review policy hierarchy, technical baseline, role ownership and exception approvals.
- Review data maps, request handling records, search completeness and response time obligations.
- Inspect portability clauses, data format, transition timing and alternative service readiness.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Trace collection notices, consent or other lawful basis, data recipients and retention rules. The governing principle is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
Incorrect Answers
B:Review policy hierarchy, technical baseline, role ownership and exception approvals. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cyber policy states that access must be secure but provides no enforceable standard for privileged identities. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Trace collection notices, consent or other lawful basis, data recipients and retention rules. The governing distinction is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
C:Review data maps, request handling records, search completeness and response time obligations. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An organization receives data subject requests but cannot locate personal records spread across cloud and on-premise systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Trace collection notices, consent or other lawful basis, data recipients and retention rules. The governing distinction is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
D:Inspect portability clauses, data format, transition timing and alternative service readiness. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A critical provider exits the market and the customer has no usable data export or transition rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Trace collection notices, consent or other lawful basis, data recipients and retention rules. The governing distinction is: Privacy governance should enforce purpose limitation, data minimization and accountable use.
Question 60
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: Operations declares an incident resolved because a server restarted, although business transactions remain stuck. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Examine stuck transactions, user acceptance, service monitoring and recovery records.
- Map physical carrier routes, provider concentration and failure history.
- Compare severity criteria, initial alerts, notification times and response records.
- Interview process owners, quantify disruption impacts and map dependent systems.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Examine stuck transactions, user acceptance, service monitoring and recovery records. The governing principle is: Incident closure should confirm restoration of the affected business service, not just infrastructure state.
Incorrect Answers
B:Map physical carrier routes, provider concentration and failure history. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Two data centers have separate buildings but share one telecom carrier and underground duct. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Examine stuck transactions, user acceptance, service monitoring and recovery records. The governing distinction is: Incident closure should confirm restoration of the affected business service, not just infrastructure state.
C:Compare severity criteria, initial alerts, notification times and response records. 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 audit step is: Examine stuck transactions, user acceptance, service monitoring and recovery records. The governing distinction is: Incident closure should confirm restoration of the affected business service, not just infrastructure state.
D: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: Examine stuck transactions, user acceptance, service monitoring and recovery records. The governing distinction is: Incident closure should confirm restoration of the affected business service, not just infrastructure state.