Isaca CISM Practice Test 49
Question 480
A software vendor's incident response plan has a generic contact list but unclear decision authority during a breach. The company has outsourced an incident-response function and changed its on-call approval chain since the plan was last reviewed. For the next governance decision, the team must maintain the response plan as the firm changes. Which choice BEST provides that outcome?
- Keep the old incident triggers and update only the telephone contact list despite a newly outsourced response function
- Review the plan after organizational and supplier changes
- Run an exercise with out-of-hours contact and approval paths
- Document containment options, approvals and dependencies by scenario
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Roles and contacts can quickly become obsolete. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:Activation thresholds are important but simply retaining old criteria and updating telephone numbers fails to review new supplier roles, dependencies and authority. The whole response plan must be maintained after changes.
C:Contacts may fail under realistic conditions. That action primarily serves the different objective to test communication during simulated escalation. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to maintain the response plan as the firm changes.
D:Teams need executable decisions. That action primarily serves the different objective to create decision-ready action playbooks. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to maintain the response plan as the firm changes.
Question 481
A payments processor detects a breach that may involve customer data in several jurisdictions. Forensic analysis has confirmed the incident affects more customer services than the initial stakeholder notice described. The security program has been tasked specifically to update stakeholders as facts change. Which approach should be selected?
- Record discovery times, legal interpretations and approvals
- Activate named spokespeople, customer contacts and regulator response owners
- Repeat the original incident holding statement even after investigators confirm additional affected customer systems
- Issue material corrections through the approved communications plan
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Communication should remain accurate and current. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:Timelines may be reviewed later. That action primarily serves the different objective to preserve evidence of notification decisions. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to update stakeholders as facts change.
B:Consistent messaging needs ownership. That action primarily serves the different objective to coordinate internal and external communications. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to update stakeholders as facts change.
C:A holding statement that was accurate earlier can become materially incomplete. The approved communication process must issue verified corrections to affected stakeholders as facts change.
Question 482
An insurance investigation needs evidence from a compromised laptop that may later be used in litigation. A security manager has a defined assignment: prepare a defensible investigative report. Which action BEST fulfills that specific assignment?
- Restrict evidence access to authorized investigators and log handling
- Record every transfer, holder, time and purpose in a chain-of-custody log
- Separate verified findings, methods, uncertainties and supporting evidence
- Coordinate memory and live-state collection before disruptive changes where safe
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Conclusions must be traceable. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:Integrity and confidentiality both matter. That action primarily serves the different objective to limit access to sensitive investigative data. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prepare a defensible investigative report.
B:Custody history supports authenticity. That action primarily serves the different objective to document custody of the laptop and images. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prepare a defensible investigative report.
D:Volatile artifacts can vanish. That action primarily serves the different objective to avoid destroying volatile evidence. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prepare a defensible investigative report.
Question 483
A hospital detects ransomware movement across workstations but isolating some devices could delay patient care. The accountable executive now asks the team to plan staged restoration. What should the security manager recommend?
- Review network and endpoint telemetry for continuing movement
- Revoke compromised access and restrict lateral trust paths where feasible
- Apply approved patient-safety and security impact thresholds through incident command
- Reintroduce validated systems in order of clinical dependency
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Recovery should not reintroduce infection. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:A command issued is not evidence of containment. That action primarily serves the different objective to verify isolation effectiveness. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to plan staged restoration.
B:Containment includes identities. That action primarily serves the different objective to prevent further spread through shared credentials. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to plan staged restoration.
C:High-impact actions need authorized decisions. That action primarily serves the different objective to decide when emergency shutdown is warranted. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to plan staged restoration.
Question 484
Following containment of an unauthorized customer-data transfer, a retailer is monitoring its analytics service for recurrence. After reviewing the situation, the management objective is to detect repeated leakage after remediation. Which response MOST directly addresses it?
- Preserve relevant logs, data flow records and cloud control-plane events
- Determine confirmed data categories, recipients and governing duties with legal counsel
- Monitor verified egress patterns and unauthorized destination changes
- Restrict identified risky accounts and outbound paths under incident authority
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Use the confirmed unauthorized egress pattern and destination evidence to monitor the analytics service for recurring transfers. A fresh deviation from the authorized data-flow baseline should trigger a response review.
Incorrect Answers
A:Preserving historical flow and control-plane evidence supports investigation of the original transfer, but the current requirement is to detect a repeat after containment.
B:Legal review of affected data and recipients supports notification decisions about the first event, not continuous detection of renewed unauthorized transfers.
D:Restricting accounts and outbound paths can stop an active transfer, but repeating containment decisions without monitoring does not show whether leakage resumes after the first incident.
Question 485
A media company learns that its website provider suffered a breach affecting shared administration credentials. For the next governance decision, the team must review supplier controls after the event. Which choice BEST provides that outcome?
- Reassess provider permissions, assurance gaps and alternate service options
- Use asset and data impact to decide targeted containment
- Rotate affected secrets and restrict provider access under the incident plan
- Invoke contractual incident reporting and evidence-sharing obligations
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Lessons should change third-party risk treatment. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
B:Unnecessary shutdown can worsen service disruption. That action primarily serves the different objective to assess whether business services require isolation. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to review supplier controls after the event.
C:Account exposure can propagate. That action primarily serves the different objective to contain exposed shared credentials. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to review supplier controls after the event.
D:Information should follow documented agreements. That action primarily serves the different objective to obtain reliable vendor updates. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to review supplier controls after the event.
Question 486
A firm suspects an employee deliberately copied sensitive product plans before resignation. Investigators have completed the authorized case and preserved the evidentiary record. Their findings identify systemic gaps in offboarding, export permissions and monitoring that now require program improvement. The security program has been tasked specifically to address control weaknesses revealed by the case. Which approach should be selected?
- Secure access logs, device evidence and approved data access records
- Restrict access proportionately under approved employment and incident procedures
- Review offboarding, data access and monitoring controls after findings
- Correlate verified transfers, entitlements and data classifications
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Root cause may be systemic. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:Evidence handling must support later review. That action primarily serves the different objective to preserve relevant records without altering them. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to address control weaknesses revealed by the case.
B:Containment should avoid unnecessary rights violations. That action primarily serves the different objective to contain potential continued misuse. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to address control weaknesses revealed by the case.
D:Suspicion alone does not establish loss. That action primarily serves the different objective to determine actual scope of information exposure. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to address control weaknesses revealed by the case.
Question 487
A cloud service owner's API keys appear in a public software repository. A security manager has a defined assignment: prevent similar disclosures. Which action BEST fulfills that specific assignment?
- Introduce secret scanning and safer credential injection into development workflows
- Review cloud audit and resource change events linked to the keys
- Analyze data-plane evidence and affected account permissions
- Rotate or revoke exposed secrets and invalidate affected sessions where supported
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Prevention should address the cause. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
B:Credential exposure can cause downstream changes. That action primarily serves the different objective to inspect activity performed with the credentials. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prevent similar disclosures.
C:Key exposure alone is not proof of data access. That action primarily serves the different objective to determine whether customer data was accessed. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prevent similar disclosures.
D:Revocation limits exploitation. That action primarily serves the different objective to prevent further use of compromised keys. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prevent similar disclosures.
Question 488
An organization discovers a malicious update was distributed through a trusted software supplier. The accountable executive now asks the team to reassess supply-chain risk after containment. What should the security manager recommend?
- Validate known-good packages and strengthened supplier verification gates
- Capture signed packages, hashes, update logs and supplier notices
- Pause affected deployments and restrict known malicious components with change approval
- Review supplier assurance, contracts and correlated exposures
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:A trusted channel can fail again. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recovery should address the delivery trust boundary. That action primarily serves the different objective to restore trust in the update process. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to reassess supply-chain risk after containment.
B:Supply-chain findings require provenance. That action primarily serves the different objective to preserve evidence of the malicious release. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to reassess supply-chain risk after containment.
C:Containment limits spread. That action primarily serves the different objective to contain the compromised update pathway. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to reassess supply-chain risk after containment.
Question 489
An online bank experiences a distributed denial-of-service attack during its busiest payment period. After reviewing the situation, the management objective is to improve readiness for repeat attacks. Which response MOST directly addresses it?
- Engage approved traffic mitigation and provider capacity procedures
- Update provider contracts, runbooks and peak-load exercises from observed conditions
- Provide verified service status and escalation through the incident communications plan
- Track legitimate transaction completion and service latency during containment
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Resilience improves through testing. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:DDoS response should preserve legitimate access. That action primarily serves the different objective to activate a proportionate availability response. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to improve readiness for repeat attacks.
C:Customers need reliable information. That action primarily serves the different objective to coordinate with customer-facing teams. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to improve readiness for repeat attacks.
D:Dropped traffic counts do not measure business success. That action primarily serves the different objective to measure attack impact and mitigation outcome. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to improve readiness for repeat attacks.
Question 490
A hospital detects unauthorized changes to medication inventory records but systems remain online. For the next governance decision, the team must prevent recurrence. Which choice BEST provides that outcome?
- Address the exploited authorization path and monitor sensitive record changes
- Restrict suspect identities and privileged change paths under incident authority
- Reconcile approved source data and verify corrections with clinical owners
- Coordinate clinical assessment of affected medication decisions
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Root-cause treatment closes the weakness. This is the specified management outcome in the scenario; it gives the accountable team an action matched to the stated requirement.
Incorrect Answers
B:Targeted containment protects records. That action primarily serves the different objective to contain continued unauthorized modification. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prevent recurrence.
C:Rollback without validation may propagate errors. That action primarily serves the different objective to restore trusted data carefully. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prevent recurrence.
D:Business impact can extend beyond IT. That action primarily serves the different objective to determine whether patient safety is threatened. It is not the step that directly satisfies the stated need to prevent recurrence.