Isaca CISA Practice Test 80
Question 790
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An attacker encrypts production files and online backups because both use the same compromised admin identity. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Map DNS architecture, cache behavior, alternate paths and outage records.
- Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans.
- Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design.
- Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design. The governing principle is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
Incorrect Answers
A:Map DNS architecture, cache behavior, alternate paths and outage records. 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 audit step is: Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
B:Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A recovery site has servers but no validated link to the payment network after a facility loss. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
D:Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company copies database files nightly while transactions remain active, producing inconsistent backups. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design. The governing distinction is: Backup resilience needs separation and protected immutable or offline recovery copies.
Question 791
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A recovery site has servers but no validated link to the payment network after a facility loss. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Inspect dependency maps, test coverage, change approvals and outage history.
- Inspect intertier dependencies, RTO/RPO, test scripts and business sign-off criteria.
- Inspect ticket retention configuration, attachment lifecycle and regulatory obligations.
- Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans. The governing principle is: Disaster recovery design must cover external connectivity and noncompute dependencies.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inspect dependency maps, test coverage, change approvals and outage history. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A routine database update causes outages because no dependency assessment included reporting services. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans. The governing distinction is: Disaster recovery design must cover external connectivity and noncompute dependencies.
B:Inspect intertier dependencies, RTO/RPO, test scripts and business sign-off criteria. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A disaster recovery runbook lists server boot order but omits database integrity and application acceptance tests. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans. The governing distinction is: Disaster recovery design must cover external connectivity and noncompute dependencies.
C:Inspect ticket retention configuration, attachment lifecycle and regulatory obligations. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A service desk deletes incident attachments when tickets are closed, preventing later regulatory review. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review network routes, partner links, certificates and recovery site failover plans. The governing distinction is: Disaster recovery design must cover external connectivity and noncompute dependencies.
Question 792
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: Procurement selects the lowest-cost cloud vendor while ignoring prior security incidents and regulatory audit rights. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
- Governance must detect changes in external obligations and translate them into owned controls.
- Vendor exit planning is necessary to manage concentration and operational continuity risk.
- IT performance measures must reflect business-service outcomes and relevant dependencies.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone. The corresponding audit procedure is: Examine due diligence, control reports, incident history and mandatory obligations.
Incorrect Answers
B:Governance must detect changes in external obligations and translate them into owned controls. 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 principle is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone. The governing distinction is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
C:Vendor exit planning is necessary to manage concentration and operational continuity risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A critical provider exits the market and the customer has no usable data export or transition rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone. The governing distinction is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
D: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: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone. The governing distinction is: Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
Question 793
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An auditee disputes an audit exception by supplying a later control fix, then asks to erase the historical finding. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds.
- Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
- Risk-based audit planning is dynamic when business context and material exposures change.
- Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period. The corresponding audit procedure is: Separate audit-period evidence, remediation date and independent retest results.
Incorrect Answers
A:Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit query joins employee and privilege tables but mistakenly duplicates rows for users with multiple roles. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period. The governing distinction is: Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period.
B:Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. 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 principle is: Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period. The governing distinction is: Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period.
C:Risk-based audit planning is dynamic when business context and material exposures change. 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 principle is: Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period. The governing distinction is: Remediation after the audit period does not retroactively prove the control operated during that period.
Question 794
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An internal auditor helped configure the privileged-access system now scheduled for an assurance review. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Clarify the engagement type and issue only conclusions supported by the work actually performed.
- Report the historical exception with clear current remediation status and corroborated response.
- Have the audit director assign an independent reviewer and disclose the conflict to appropriate oversight.
- Escalate unresolved pressure through the chief audit executive and retain the supported finding.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Have the audit director assign an independent reviewer and disclose the conflict to appropriate oversight. The relevant control principle is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A reviewer uninvolved in the original configuration signs off on workpapers and the conflict disposition.
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: Have the audit director assign an independent reviewer and disclose the conflict to appropriate oversight. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
B:Report the historical exception with clear current remediation status and corroborated response. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditee disputes an audit exception by supplying a later control fix, then asks to erase the historical finding. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Have the audit director assign an independent reviewer and disclose the conflict to appropriate oversight. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
D:Escalate unresolved pressure through the chief audit executive and retain the supported finding. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A chief information officer asks the audit lead to remove a supported high-risk finding before it reaches the audit committee. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Have the audit director assign an independent reviewer and disclose the conflict to appropriate oversight. The governing distinction is: Auditor objectivity is impaired by assessing one's own recent design work.
Question 795
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A program steering committee receives status reports from one vendor but has no visibility into independent testing delays. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays.
- Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events.
- Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance.
- Recommend integrated change control with documented scope and acceptance decisions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays. The relevant control principle is: Effective oversight requires consolidated delivery reporting and objective milestone evidence. A meaningful follow-up should establish: The steering committee sees verified readiness, risk and dependency status before decisions.
Incorrect Answers
B: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 a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays. The governing distinction is: Effective oversight requires consolidated delivery reporting and objective milestone evidence.
C:Recommend risk-based detailed conversion reconciliation and resolution before acceptance. 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 recommendation is: Recommend a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays. The governing distinction is: Effective oversight requires consolidated delivery reporting and objective milestone evidence.
D:Recommend integrated change control with documented scope and acceptance decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new enterprise resource planning program frequently expands requirements without cost, risk or schedule review. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend a cross-party program dashboard with escalated critical-path delays. The governing distinction is: Effective oversight requires consolidated delivery reporting and objective milestone evidence.
Question 796
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A company copies database files nightly while transactions remain active, producing inconsistent backups. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review approved retention rules, system purge settings, storage capacity and sampled history.
- Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design.
- Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks.
- Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks. The governing principle is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Review approved retention rules, system purge settings, storage capacity and sampled history. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A financial application retains operational logs for only a week although investigation rules require six months. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks. The governing distinction is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
B:Inspect backup privilege boundaries, deletion rights and ransomware recovery design. 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 audit step is: Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks. The governing distinction is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
D:Compare raw downtime events, contract definitions and reporting transformations. 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 audit step is: Review backup method, transaction logs, quiescing support and restore checks. The governing distinction is: Data protection must account for application consistency and in-flight transactions.
Question 797
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A retail chain replaces laptops but leaves decommissioned drives untracked with a disposal contractor. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend independent failure domains or formally accepted residual exposure.
- Recommend a reconciled inventory with ownership and lifecycle attributes.
- Recommend tracked handoff and approved sanitization verification before disposal.
- Recommend capacity thresholds and a validated scale plan before peak season.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend tracked handoff and approved sanitization verification before disposal. The relevant control principle is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Each retired device reconciles to approved erasure or destruction evidence and authorized release.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend independent failure domains or formally accepted residual exposure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A database is replicated across two racks but both racks depend on the same cooling circuit. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend tracked handoff and approved sanitization verification before disposal. The governing distinction is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.
B: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 tracked handoff and approved sanitization verification before disposal. The governing distinction is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.
D:Recommend capacity thresholds and a validated scale plan before peak season. 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 recommendation is: Recommend tracked handoff and approved sanitization verification before disposal. The governing distinction is: Asset lifecycle management must control custody and data disposition at retirement.
Question 798
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An internal portal outage follows certificate expiration despite an automated renewal job that reported success. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Inspect trust-store settings, CRL/OCSP reachability, cache behavior and certificate status.
- Compare renewed certificate inventory, deployed endpoints, validity dates and chain health.
- Inspect reviewer role, HR roster, role descriptions and sample revocation outcomes.
- Inspect signed authorization, timing constraints, target list and emergency stop procedures.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Compare renewed certificate inventory, deployed endpoints, validity dates and chain health. The governing principle is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inspect trust-store settings, CRL/OCSP reachability, cache behavior and certificate status. 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 audit step is: Compare renewed certificate inventory, deployed endpoints, validity dates and chain health. The governing distinction is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
C:Inspect reviewer role, HR roster, role descriptions and sample revocation outcomes. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A quarterly access certification is completed by a system administrator who cannot identify the employees' current business responsibilities. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Compare renewed certificate inventory, deployed endpoints, validity dates and chain health. The governing distinction is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
D: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: Compare renewed certificate inventory, deployed endpoints, validity dates and chain health. The governing distinction is: PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
Question 799
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A penetration test exercises production authentication without authorization or a recovery plan. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Provider assurances do not automatically cover customer-operated security responsibilities.
- Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis.
- Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement.
- Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect signed authorization, timing constraints, target list and emergency stop procedures.
Incorrect Answers
A:Provider assurances do not automatically cover customer-operated security responsibilities. 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 principle is: Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement. The governing distinction is: Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement.
B:Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis. 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 principle is: Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement. The governing distinction is: Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement.
D:Security test findings require contextual verification and risk assessment before conclusions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vulnerability scanner reports a critical web flaw but the service is behind a compensating control and no validation occurs. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement. The governing distinction is: Security testing must have approved scope, safe methods and accountable rules of engagement.
Question 800
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A cloud event bus drops messages during an outage and consuming systems never replay them. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- The recovery sequence reflects validated criticality and maximum tolerable disruption.
- Closed incident records retain required evidence and authorized retrieval is possible.
- Full valid descriptions survive transfer and oversized payloads generate tracked exceptions.
- An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation. It addresses system interfaces. Underlying audit concern: Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.
Incorrect Answers
A:The recovery sequence reflects validated criticality and maximum tolerable disruption. 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 verification is: An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation. The governing distinction is: Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.
B:Closed incident records retain required evidence and authorized retrieval is possible. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A service desk deletes incident attachments when tickets are closed, preventing later regulatory review. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation. The governing distinction is: Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.
C:Full valid descriptions survive transfer and oversized payloads generate tracked exceptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An inventory API responds successfully while silently truncating long product descriptions during integration. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: An outage simulation shows no unexplained data loss and controlled eventual reconciliation. The governing distinction is: Reliable integration requires durable delivery, recovery and monitoring of unprocessed events.