Isaca CISA Practice Test 7
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.
Question 61
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An automation business case counts staff savings but omits new licenses, monitoring and transition costs. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints.
- Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
- Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions.
- Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions. The corresponding audit procedure is: Recalculate lifetime costs, benefit timing, support effort and discount assumptions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints. 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 principle is: Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions. The governing distinction is: Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions.
B:Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud move assumes existing encryption keys will work in the target without import or custody testing. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions. The governing distinction is: Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions.
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: Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions. The governing distinction is: Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions.
Question 62
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A vendor incident triggers a temporary exception but the residual risk is never reconsidered after six months. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions.
- Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.
- Third-party governance must extend material controls and data obligations to subcontractors.
- IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect exception age, business justification, compensating controls and renewal approval.
Incorrect Answers
A:Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions. 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 principle is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority. The governing distinction is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.
C: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: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority. The governing distinction is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.
D:IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits. 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 principle is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority. The governing distinction is: Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.
Question 63
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: Three departments repeatedly miss remediation dates but audit management reports closure rates without aging analysis. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually.
- Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership.
- Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting.
- Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting. The relevant control principle is: Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Audit oversight receives accurate aging, ownership and retest status for open actions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor flags duplicated supplier invoices by invoice number alone and ignores vendor identifiers and credit notes. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting. The governing distinction is: Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness.
B:Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor discovers an urgent uncontained data disclosure but plans to mention it only in the quarterly report. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting. The governing distinction is: Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness.
D:Perform a documented quality review and update procedures with rationale and staff training. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit team changes sampling procedures each quarter without documenting why results are no longer comparable. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting. The governing distinction is: Quality monitoring should reveal overdue high-risk actions and escalation effectiveness.
Question 64
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A financial reporting controls audit tests only the cloud provider's availability status but ignores the customer's application controls. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Clarify the engagement type and issue only conclusions supported by the work actually performed.
- Use approved minimal-data or masked analysis within a controlled audit environment.
- Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure.
- Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances. The relevant control principle is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Workpapers trace each material reporting risk to an appropriate control and test result.
Incorrect Answers
A:Clarify the engagement type and issue only conclusions supported by the work actually performed. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management calls a readiness workshop a completed audit even though no testing or assurance opinion was planned. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances. The governing distinction is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
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: Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances. The governing distinction is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
C:Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Post-audit follow-up marks a critical password weakness closed solely because management sent a completion email. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Expand the risk-based audit scope to include relevant customer controls and complementary provider assurances. The governing distinction is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
Question 65
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: After a malware outbreak is closed, identical infections recur because no root-cause or control improvement work is assigned. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- A backup-copy compromise does not grant unauthorized access to the decryption keys.
- Restored services operate without active malicious access or unaddressed persistence.
- Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective.
- Privileged actions map to authorized identities and shared credential use is restricted.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective. It addresses security incident response management. Underlying audit concern: Incident lessons learned should improve preventive, detective and response controls.
Incorrect Answers
A:A backup-copy compromise does not grant unauthorized access to the decryption keys. 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 verification is: Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective. The governing distinction is: Incident lessons learned should improve preventive, detective and response controls.
B:Restored services operate without active malicious access or unaddressed persistence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A ransomware incident plan focuses on restoring files but omits containment of compromised privileged identities. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective. The governing distinction is: Incident lessons learned should improve preventive, detective and response controls.
D:Privileged actions map to authorized identities and shared credential use is restricted. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Privileged database administrators routinely use shared root credentials without individual attribution. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective. The governing distinction is: Incident lessons learned should improve preventive, detective and response controls.
Question 66
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A technology steering group approves projects without showing how they support the organization's strategic priorities. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Governance should define risk ownership and objective challenge across accountable roles.
- IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits.
- Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle.
- Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits. The corresponding audit procedure is: Trace project approvals to business strategies, benefit owners and funding criteria.
Incorrect Answers
A:Governance should define risk ownership and objective challenge across accountable roles. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A chief technology officer both accepts enterprise cyber risk and certifies the independence of the risk oversight function. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits. The governing distinction is: IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits.
C:Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A software delivery group claims quality because unit tests pass, but repeated severe production incidents persist. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits. The governing distinction is: IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits.
D:Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vendor incident triggers a temporary exception but the residual risk is never reconsidered after six months. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits. The governing distinction is: IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits.
Question 67
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A vulnerability scanner reports a critical web flaw but the service is behind a compensating control and no validation occurs. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Inspect signed authorization, timing constraints, target list and emergency stop procedures.
- Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls.
- Trace approved application flows, firewall rules and actual connection logs.
- Review thermal baselines, alarm thresholds, sensor coverage and escalation records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls. The governing principle is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inspect signed authorization, timing constraints, target list and emergency stop procedures. 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 audit step is: Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls. The governing distinction is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
C:Trace approved application flows, firewall rules and actual connection logs. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A production network permits unrestricted traffic from user workstations to a sensitive payment database. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls. The governing distinction is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
D: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 scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls. The governing distinction is: Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
Question 68
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A new inventory system's disaster-recovery test is deferred because normal transaction testing passes. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review criticality, recovery objectives, failover plans and missing test evidence.
- Inspect pipeline roles, protected branches, approvals and immutable deployment logs.
- Review credential scope, pipeline identities, environment boundaries and access records.
- Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Review criticality, recovery objectives, failover plans and missing test evidence. The governing principle is: Functional success does not demonstrate recoverability or continuity readiness.
Incorrect Answers
B:Inspect pipeline roles, protected branches, approvals and immutable deployment logs. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A DevOps team deploys from automated pipelines with no independent approval for sensitive production promotions. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review criticality, recovery objectives, failover plans and missing test evidence. The governing distinction is: Functional success does not demonstrate recoverability or continuity readiness.
C:Review credential scope, pipeline identities, environment boundaries and access records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A team uses the same deployment credentials for development, test and production systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review criticality, recovery objectives, failover plans and missing test evidence. The governing distinction is: Functional success does not demonstrate recoverability or continuity readiness.
D:Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs. 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 audit step is: Review criticality, recovery objectives, failover plans and missing test evidence. The governing distinction is: Functional success does not demonstrate recoverability or continuity readiness.
Question 69
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A database is replicated across two racks but both racks depend on the same cooling circuit. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy.
- Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology.
- Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts.
- Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review rack placement, power/cooling diagrams, recovery design and fault dependencies.
Incorrect Answers
B:Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A highly available application uses only one privileged administrator who is unavailable during a holiday. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy. The governing distinction is: Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy.
C:Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts. 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 principle is: Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy. The governing distinction is: Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy.
D: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: Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy. The governing distinction is: Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy.
Question 70
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A new security control requires two operators to approve destructive data deletion, but both approvals can use one shared account. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties.
- Reprioritize the plan toward the higher-risk system and record the risk rationale.
- Select a defensible sample across relevant processing periods and investigate exceptions.
- Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties. The relevant control principle is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable. A meaningful follow-up should establish: An attempted single-user dual approval is blocked and the two identities appear in audit evidence.
Incorrect Answers
B:Reprioritize the plan toward the higher-risk system and record the risk rationale. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The annual audit plan gives equal effort to a low-risk intranet and a newly acquired payment processing platform. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties. The governing distinction is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.
C:Select a defensible sample across relevant processing periods and investigate exceptions. 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 recommendation is: Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties. The governing distinction is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.
D:Recommend named ownership, response thresholds and tracked escalation for material alerts. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A monitoring alert is generated for suspicious transfers, but no owner is assigned to investigate or close it. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties. The governing distinction is: Dual authorization is ineffective if the supposed approvers are not independently attributable.