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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?

  1. Examine stuck transactions, user acceptance, service monitoring and recovery records.
  2. Map physical carrier routes, provider concentration and failure history.
  3. Compare severity criteria, initial alerts, notification times and response records.
  4. 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?

  1. Feasibility conclusions require representative conditions and identified implementation constraints.
  2. Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
  3. Investment feasibility should evaluate total costs, benefits, risks and measurable assumptions.
  4. 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?

  1. Risk aggregation requires consistent criteria and clear reporting of noncomparable dimensions.
  2. Risk exceptions require periodic review against changing exposure and acceptance authority.
  3. Third-party governance must extend material controls and data obligations to subcontractors.
  4. 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?

  1. Refine duplicate detection with appropriate compound keys and review exceptions manually.
  2. Communicate the verified urgent exposure immediately to authorized management and audit leadership.
  3. Escalate persistently overdue material findings and improve risk-weighted follow-up reporting.
  4. 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?

  1. Clarify the engagement type and issue only conclusions supported by the work actually performed.
  2. Use approved minimal-data or masked analysis within a controlled audit environment.
  3. Independently retest the agreed corrective action and record any residual exposure.
  4. 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?

  1. A backup-copy compromise does not grant unauthorized access to the decryption keys.
  2. Restored services operate without active malicious access or unaddressed persistence.
  3. Repeat infections decline and validated corrective controls remain effective.
  4. 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?

  1. Governance should define risk ownership and objective challenge across accountable roles.
  2. IT governance should align technology investment decisions with enterprise objectives and expected benefits.
  3. Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle.
  4. 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?

  1. Inspect signed authorization, timing constraints, target list and emergency stop procedures.
  2. Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls.
  3. Trace approved application flows, firewall rules and actual connection logs.
  4. 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?

  1. Review criticality, recovery objectives, failover plans and missing test evidence.
  2. Inspect pipeline roles, protected branches, approvals and immutable deployment logs.
  3. Review credential scope, pipeline identities, environment boundaries and access records.
  4. 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?

  1. Resilience requires identifying physical common-cause failures beyond logical redundancy.
  2. Resilience depends on trained personnel and procedures as well as redundant technology.
  3. Availability analysis must include upstream shared dependencies, not just redundant hosts.
  4. 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?

  1. Recommend distinct authenticated approvers and enforced separation of duties.
  2. Reprioritize the plan toward the higher-risk system and record the risk rationale.
  3. Select a defensible sample across relevant processing periods and investigate exceptions.
  4. 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.

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) Practice Tests