Isaca CISA Practice Test 68
Question 670
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A company implements a network intrusion detector but does not assign anyone to triage severe alerts. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence.
- Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits.
- Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded.
- Representative allowed and denied flows match the intended restrictive rules.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits. It addresses network and end-point security. Underlying audit concern: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
Incorrect Answers
A:Sample departures lose relevant access within policy limits and retain auditable evidence. 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 verification is: Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits. The governing distinction is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
C:Users cannot obtain sensitive access until required training is recorded. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Contractor onboarding omits data-handling training although contractors access classified research files. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits. The governing distinction is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
D:Representative allowed and denied flows match the intended restrictive rules. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A firewall has a broad any-to-any allow rule placed ahead of new restrictions for a regulated application. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Simulated high-severity events reach qualified responders within defined limits. The governing distinction is: Detection requires an accountable response workflow to reduce business impact.
Question 671
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A virtualization administrator can snapshot and download regulated production virtual machines without oversight. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Reconcile device inventory, agent heartbeat, signature status and unmanaged endpoints.
- Map shared-responsibility controls and review customer policies, logs and service settings.
- Review virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring.
- Inspect original storage, collection method, metadata changes and available copies.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Review virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring. The governing principle is: Hypervisor privileges can expose entire workloads and require strict governance.
Incorrect Answers
A: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 virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring. The governing distinction is: Hypervisor privileges can expose entire workloads and require strict governance.
B:Map shared-responsibility controls and review customer policies, logs and service settings. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud provider's assurance report covers physical facilities but the customer's tenant encryption and IAM are untested. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring. The governing distinction is: Hypervisor privileges can expose entire workloads and require strict governance.
D: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 virtual infrastructure roles, snapshot events, datastore permissions and monitoring. The governing distinction is: Hypervisor privileges can expose entire workloads and require strict governance.
Question 672
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A SOC receives repeated login alerts but does not correlate them with high-value account privilege changes. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend coverage and ingestion-gap alarms alongside threat detections.
- Recommend risk-based detection rules linking authentication anomalies to privileged activity.
- Recommend separating vendor creation from payment approval with documented emergency exceptions.
- Recommend risk-appropriate multifactor authentication with secure recovery methods.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend risk-based detection rules linking authentication anomalies to privileged activity. The relevant control principle is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A safe combined test creates a prioritized alert with adequate investigation context.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend coverage and ingestion-gap alarms alongside threat detections. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An endpoint dashboard displays every system as healthy even though remote devices have stopped forwarding telemetry. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based detection rules linking authentication anomalies to privileged activity. The governing distinction is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
C:Recommend separating vendor creation from payment approval with documented emergency exceptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An accounts-payable supervisor can both create vendors and approve their first payments. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend risk-based detection rules linking authentication anomalies to privileged activity. The governing distinction is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
D:Recommend risk-appropriate multifactor authentication with secure recovery methods. 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 recommendation is: Recommend risk-based detection rules linking authentication anomalies to privileged activity. The governing distinction is: Security monitoring should correlate relevant signals into actionable risk scenarios.
Question 673
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A continuous monitoring dashboard reports zero failed access attempts because its collection job stopped three days ago. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance.
- Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure.
- Reprioritize the plan toward the higher-risk system and record the risk rationale.
- Perform a documented plan refresh with the audit committee's appropriate approval.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance. The relevant control principle is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Known test events appear and processing totals reconcile after ingestion recovery.
Incorrect Answers
B:Calibrate the detection and corroborate material exceptions before reporting control failure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An anomaly model ranks high-value payments as suspicious but the auditor cannot explain its scoring or false-positive rate. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance. The governing distinction is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
C: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: Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance. The governing distinction is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
D:Perform a documented plan refresh with the audit committee's appropriate approval. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A merger adds a regulated customer database after the audit plan was approved, but the plan is treated as unchangeable. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Repair the approved monitoring feed and add completeness checks before reliance. The governing distinction is: A zero-exception result is unreliable if data completeness and pipeline health are unverified.
Question 674
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A quarterly access certification is completed by a system administrator who cannot identify the employees' current business responsibilities. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend risk-appropriate multifactor authentication with secure recovery methods.
- Recommend business-owner attestation with technical evidence and timely deprovisioning.
- Recommend minimal export entitlements and monitoring or blocking of unauthorized bulk transfers.
- Recommend adaptive authentication, rate controls and account protection monitoring.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend business-owner attestation with technical evidence and timely deprovisioning. The relevant control principle is: Access reviews require knowledgeable business ownership of authorization decisions. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Reviews identify inappropriate entitlements and revocation actions complete promptly.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend risk-appropriate multifactor authentication with secure recovery methods. 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 recommendation is: Recommend business-owner attestation with technical evidence and timely deprovisioning. The governing distinction is: Access reviews require knowledgeable business ownership of authorization decisions.
C:Recommend minimal export entitlements and monitoring or blocking of unauthorized bulk transfers. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A customer service portal allows employees to export unrestricted copies of all customer identity documents. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend business-owner attestation with technical evidence and timely deprovisioning. The governing distinction is: Access reviews require knowledgeable business ownership of authorization decisions.
D:Recommend adaptive authentication, rate controls and account protection monitoring. 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 recommendation is: Recommend business-owner attestation with technical evidence and timely deprovisioning. The governing distinction is: Access reviews require knowledgeable business ownership of authorization decisions.
Question 675
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A team stores database encryption keys in the same unrestricted repository as encrypted backups. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives.
- Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths.
- Review TLS settings, trust validation, connection endpoints and exception records.
- Inspect bucket ACLs, public access settings, deployment templates and audit events.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths. The governing principle is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
Incorrect Answers
A:Assess current threat activity, service dependencies and available containment alternatives. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A security team isolates a suspicious server without informing its critical care business owner, interrupting clinical operations. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths. The governing distinction is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
C:Review TLS settings, trust validation, connection endpoints and exception records. 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 audit step is: Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths. The governing distinction is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
D:Inspect bucket ACLs, public access settings, deployment templates and audit events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud storage bucket used for personnel data becomes publicly readable after a template change. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect key storage, privileges, rotation controls and backup access paths. The governing distinction is: Key management separation is essential to preserve confidentiality and recovery security.
Question 676
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An internal portal outage follows certificate expiration despite an automated renewal job that reported success. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
- Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps.
- PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
- Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare renewed certificate inventory, deployed endpoints, validity dates and chain health.
Incorrect Answers
A:Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A revoked supplier certificate remains trusted by an application because revocation checks are disabled. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status. The governing distinction is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
B:Framework implementation should address local constraints without unreviewed security gaps. 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 principle is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status. The governing distinction is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
D:Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A red-team exercise reports success based on one simulated phishing click without demonstrating access or business impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status. The governing distinction is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
Question 677
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A branch wireless network uses a shared password disclosed to vendors and former employees. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Inspect bucket ACLs, public access settings, deployment templates and audit events.
- Inspect device inventory, default credentials, reachability and patch support.
- Compare incident reports, repeated vulnerabilities, eradication evidence and lessons logs.
- Inspect wireless authentication settings, credential distribution and access logs.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Inspect wireless authentication settings, credential distribution and access logs. The governing principle is: Shared wireless credentials weaken accountability and reliable offboarding.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inspect bucket ACLs, public access settings, deployment templates and audit events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud storage bucket used for personnel data becomes publicly readable after a template change. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect wireless authentication settings, credential distribution and access logs. The governing distinction is: Shared wireless credentials weaken accountability and reliable offboarding.
B:Inspect device inventory, default credentials, reachability and patch support. 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 audit step is: Inspect wireless authentication settings, credential distribution and access logs. The governing distinction is: Shared wireless credentials weaken accountability and reliable offboarding.
C:Compare incident reports, repeated vulnerabilities, eradication evidence and lessons logs. 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 audit step is: Inspect wireless authentication settings, credential distribution and access logs. The governing distinction is: Shared wireless credentials weaken accountability and reliable offboarding.
Question 678
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A risk register identifies unpatched critical servers but assigns the mitigation decision to the auditor. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Inspect exception inventory, supported cloud capabilities, risk assessments and approval rights.
- Trace project approvals to business strategies, benefit owners and funding criteria.
- Inspect category methodologies, thresholds and reporting assumptions.
- Check enterprise risk roles, server exposure, risk ratings and assigned accountable owners.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Check enterprise risk roles, server exposure, risk ratings and assigned accountable owners. The governing principle is: Management owns risk treatment; the auditor evaluates its governance and effectiveness.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inspect exception inventory, supported cloud capabilities, risk assessments and approval rights. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A legacy security standard remains mandatory even though new approved cloud services cannot technically meet it. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Check enterprise risk roles, server exposure, risk ratings and assigned accountable owners. The governing distinction is: Management owns risk treatment; the auditor evaluates its governance and effectiveness.
B:Trace project approvals to business strategies, benefit owners and funding criteria. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A technology steering group approves projects without showing how they support the organization's strategic priorities. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Check enterprise risk roles, server exposure, risk ratings and assigned accountable owners. The governing distinction is: Management owns risk treatment; the auditor evaluates its governance and effectiveness.
C:Inspect category methodologies, thresholds and reporting assumptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An enterprise applies one numeric risk score to cyber, safety and privacy exposures despite different materiality definitions. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Check enterprise risk roles, server exposure, risk ratings and assigned accountable owners. The governing distinction is: Management owns risk treatment; the auditor evaluates its governance and effectiveness.
Question 679
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A multinational cloud project assumes a control compliant in one country automatically satisfies every jurisdiction in which data is processed. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Map storage, access, processing locations and applicable legal or contractual requirements.
- Compare the current regulator publication, policy inventory and reporting workflow dates.
- Trace data schemas, interface mappings, downstream consumers and quality defects.
- Compare transaction success, synthetic tests, infrastructure metrics and outage records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Map storage, access, processing locations and applicable legal or contractual requirements. The governing principle is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
Incorrect Answers
B:Compare the current regulator publication, policy inventory and reporting workflow dates. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A bank's compliance register still lists a superseded regulatory reporting deadline after a rule change. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Map storage, access, processing locations and applicable legal or contractual requirements. The governing distinction is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
C:Trace data schemas, interface mappings, downstream consumers and quality defects. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Different departments adopt incompatible master-data formats for the same customer identifier. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Map storage, access, processing locations and applicable legal or contractual requirements. The governing distinction is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
D:Compare transaction success, synthetic tests, infrastructure metrics and outage records. 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 audit step is: Map storage, access, processing locations and applicable legal or contractual requirements. The governing distinction is: Compliance obligations vary by location, data activity, contract and regulatory scope.
Question 680
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A cloud move assumes existing encryption keys will work in the target without import or custody testing. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend approved configuration-as-code or logged emergency change control.
- Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning.
- Recommend removing unnecessary launch privileges and recording any approved residual risk.
- Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning. The relevant control principle is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A migrated encrypted sample is accessible to authorized users and remains protected.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend approved configuration-as-code or logged emergency change control. 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 recommendation is: Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning. The governing distinction is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
C:Recommend removing unnecessary launch privileges and recording any approved residual risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: After a new billing platform launches, unresolved temporary broad administrator permissions are treated as permanent. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning. The governing distinction is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
D:Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An ERP cutover leaves the old interface running and duplicates orders in both systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend controlled key migration testing and secure escrow or recovery planning. The governing distinction is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.