Isaca CISA Practice Test 60
Question 590
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Continuity leadership bases recovery priorities on annual revenue only and ignores safety-critical low-volume services. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A restore exercise measures actual data currency against the approved loss limit.
- Unauthorized formula changes are detected and regulatory calculations reconcile.
- Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm.
- A realistic stress test meets response targets with required failover headroom.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm. It addresses business impact analysis. Underlying audit concern: Business impact includes legal, safety, customer and operational harm beyond revenue.
Incorrect Answers
A:A restore exercise measures actual data currency against the approved loss limit. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A sales system's backup schedule is chosen before the business determines acceptable data loss. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm. The governing distinction is: Business impact includes legal, safety, customer and operational harm beyond revenue.
B:Unauthorized formula changes are detected and regulatory calculations reconcile. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A spreadsheet with editable formulas calculates regulatory capital but has no validation or change history. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm. The governing distinction is: Business impact includes legal, safety, customer and operational harm beyond revenue.
D: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: Safety-critical services receive priority proportionate to validated harm. The governing distinction is: Business impact includes legal, safety, customer and operational harm beyond revenue.
Question 591
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A system owner provides a screenshot of an access list without a timestamp or source-system identification. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request.
- Use approved minimal-data or masked analysis within a controlled audit environment.
- Obtain a reproducible system-generated extract and corroborate key entries independently.
- Recommend an appropriately authorized preventive change control with detective review as a complementary layer.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Obtain a reproducible system-generated extract and corroborate key entries independently. The relevant control principle is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing. A meaningful follow-up should establish: The workpaper records source, date, collection method and reconciliation to original records.
Incorrect Answers
A:Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A board report includes hundreds of raw test details but fails to distinguish enterprise-critical findings. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Obtain a reproducible system-generated extract and corroborate key entries independently. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
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: Obtain a reproducible system-generated extract and corroborate key entries independently. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
D: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: Obtain a reproducible system-generated extract and corroborate key entries independently. The governing distinction is: Audit evidence reliability depends on source, integrity, relevance and timing.
Question 592
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A company continues paying software maintenance for applications deleted during a consolidation. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule.
- Recommend independent communications paths or explicit mitigation for shared exposure.
- Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes.
- Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls. The relevant control principle is: Software asset records must reconcile acquisitions, deployment, retirement and entitlements. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Active licenses, contract costs and actual deployments agree within documented exceptions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule. 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 recommendation is: Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls. The governing distinction is: Software asset records must reconcile acquisitions, deployment, retirement and entitlements.
B:Recommend independent communications paths or explicit mitigation for shared exposure. 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 recommendation is: Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls. The governing distinction is: Software asset records must reconcile acquisitions, deployment, retirement and entitlements.
C:Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes. 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 recommendation is: Recommend ongoing entitlement reconciliation tied to lifecycle change controls. The governing distinction is: Software asset records must reconcile acquisitions, deployment, retirement and entitlements.
Question 593
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A fire-suppression system passes annual inspections but a rack's temperature sensors have never alarmed under test. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Identity lifecycle controls should promptly revoke access when authorization ends.
- Physical access controls must cover alternate entry points and generate reliable access evidence.
- Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response.
- Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review thermal baselines, alarm thresholds, sensor coverage and escalation records.
Incorrect Answers
A:Identity lifecycle controls should promptly revoke access when authorization ends. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A departed finance employee's account remains enabled in a payroll application after HR termination. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response. The governing distinction is: Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response.
B:Physical access controls must cover alternate entry points and generate reliable access evidence. 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 principle is: Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response. The governing distinction is: Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response.
D:Overbroad classification can undermine effective enforcement and incident response. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A research team labels every file confidential, generating excessive DLP false positives and routine overrides. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response. The governing distinction is: Environmental protection requires functioning detection, alerting and appropriate response.
Question 594
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A SaaS provider promises 99.9% uptime in a brochure but the signed agreement contains no measurable recovery commitment. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Third-party governance must extend material controls and data obligations to subcontractors.
- IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies.
- Architectural deviations require formal risk evaluation and ownership.
- Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare contract clauses, business impact analysis, vendor performance history and service credits.
Incorrect Answers
A:Third-party governance must extend material controls and data obligations to subcontractors. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A subcontractor stores confidential records in a region excluded by the prime provider's contract. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
B:IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies. 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 principle is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
C:Architectural deviations require formal risk evaluation and ownership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud architecture exception bypasses the organization's target zero-trust network segmentation without review. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements. The governing distinction is: Vendor risk must be evaluated against enforceable contractual terms and business requirements.
Question 595
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: The IT dashboard shows 100 percent server uptime while customers report failed checkout transactions. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies.
- Data governance requires clear ownership, quality rules and authorized source definitions.
- Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership.
- Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare transaction success, synthetic tests, infrastructure metrics and outage records.
Incorrect Answers
B:Data governance requires clear ownership, quality rules and authorized source definitions. 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 principle is: IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies. The governing distinction is: IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies.
C:Privacy response effectiveness depends on a reliable data inventory and ownership. 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 principle is: IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies. The governing distinction is: IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies.
D:Governance measures should combine schedule, benefit, quality and risk indicators. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A change program reports all projects green by budget but ignores delayed security deliverables. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies. The governing distinction is: IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies.
Question 596
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A company implements a network intrusion detector but does not assign anyone to triage severe alerts. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers.
- Reconcile device inventory, agent heartbeat, signature status and unmanaged endpoints.
- Inspect original storage, collection method, metadata changes and available copies.
- Review detection events, escalation thresholds, staffing and resolution histories.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Review detection events, escalation thresholds, staffing and resolution histories. The governing principle is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review acquisition authorization, image hashes, timestamps and custody transfers. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An investigator copies a suspect laptop disk without recording who handled it or whether the image changed. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review detection events, escalation thresholds, staffing and resolution histories. The governing distinction is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
B:Reconcile device inventory, agent heartbeat, signature status and unmanaged endpoints. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An endpoint protection console reports agents installed but several laptops have not checked in for months. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review detection events, escalation thresholds, staffing and resolution histories. The governing distinction is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
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 detection events, escalation thresholds, staffing and resolution histories. The governing distinction is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
Question 597
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: An internal support agreement omits escalation responsibilities for incidents spanning two suppliers. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A cross-vendor incident reaches an accountable resolver and meets agreed response rules.
- Recovery performance meets required levels or management implements a documented alternative.
- A measured peak-like exercise meets agreed recovery times and identifies capacity shortfalls.
- A recovery rehearsal restores the complete service within the approved RTO.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A cross-vendor incident reaches an accountable resolver and meets agreed response rules. It addresses it service level management. Underlying audit concern: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recovery performance meets required levels or management implements a documented alternative. 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 verification is: A cross-vendor incident reaches an accountable resolver and meets agreed response rules. The governing distinction is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
C:A measured peak-like exercise meets agreed recovery times and identifies capacity shortfalls. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company rehearses DR annually on a clean weekend but its live recovery window overlaps payroll peaks and storage contention. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A cross-vendor incident reaches an accountable resolver and meets agreed response rules. The governing distinction is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
D:A recovery rehearsal restores the complete service within the approved RTO. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A business owner specifies a one-hour RTO but has never identified which external dependencies must also be restored. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: A cross-vendor incident reaches an accountable resolver and meets agreed response rules. The governing distinction is: Service-level oversight requires end-to-end responsibility and dispute or escalation paths.
Question 598
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A company copies database files nightly while transactions remain active, producing inconsistent backups. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests.
- Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules.
- A controlled forwarding outage triggers timely alerting with identifiable ownership.
- A compromised production identity cannot erase every recovery copy and restore tests pass.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests. It addresses data backup, storage, and restoration. Underlying audit concern: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
Incorrect Answers
B:Published availability reconciles to raw incidents and agreed contractual measurement rules. 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 verification is: Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests. The governing distinction is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
C:A controlled forwarding outage triggers timely alerting with identifiable ownership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Security logs are forwarded to a central platform but administrators can disable forwarding without generating an alert. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests. The governing distinction is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
D:A compromised production identity cannot erase every recovery copy and restore tests pass. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An attacker encrypts production files and online backups because both use the same compromised admin identity. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Restoration passes transactional integrity and reconciliation tests. The governing distinction is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
Question 599
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A server room uses badge access but an unattended emergency door allows unrecorded entry. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review access routes, door alarms, visitor logs and response procedures.
- Review thermal baselines, alarm thresholds, sensor coverage and escalation records.
- Map significant threats, governing policy, external requirements and checklist control objectives.
- Review virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Review access routes, door alarms, visitor logs and response procedures. The governing principle is: Physical access controls must cover alternate entry points and generate reliable access evidence.
Incorrect Answers
B:Review thermal baselines, alarm thresholds, sensor coverage and escalation records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A fire-suppression system passes annual inspections but a rack's temperature sensors have never alarmed under test. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review access routes, door alarms, visitor logs and response procedures. The governing distinction is: Physical access controls must cover alternate entry points and generate reliable access evidence.
C:Map significant threats, governing policy, external requirements and checklist control objectives. 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 audit step is: Review access routes, door alarms, visitor logs and response procedures. The governing distinction is: Physical access controls must cover alternate entry points and generate reliable access evidence.
D:Review virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring. 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 audit step is: Review access routes, door alarms, visitor logs and response procedures. The governing distinction is: Physical access controls must cover alternate entry points and generate reliable access evidence.
Question 600
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A disaster recovery runbook lists server boot order but omits database integrity and application acceptance tests. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.
- Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk.
- End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components.
- DR readiness should be tested under credible operational demand and resource constraints.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect intertier dependencies, RTO/RPO, test scripts and business sign-off criteria.
Incorrect Answers
B:Service credits alone may not address underlying operational and continuity risk. 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 principle is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure. The governing distinction is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.
C:End-to-end service availability depends on all critical infrastructure and application components. 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 principle is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure. The governing distinction is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.
D:DR readiness should be tested under credible operational demand and resource constraints. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company rehearses DR annually on a clean weekend but its live recovery window overlaps payroll peaks and storage contention. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure. The governing distinction is: DR plans must restore usable business capabilities, not merely power on infrastructure.