ISC CISSP Practice Test 2
Question 10
A payroll system has encryption enabled but attackers altered salary amounts through an overly privileged service account. A designer proposes: Add more disk encryption and assume modification risk is eliminated. What is the MOST significant security deficiency in this proposal?
- Availability requires tolerated component failure, not simply data secrecy or message signing.
- Encryption at rest does not prevent an authorized-but-compromised identity from changing data.
- Certificate hygiene cannot prevent loss of the only running processing location.
- Accountable authorization and nonrepudiable evidence meet a stronger audit objective than integrity enforcement alone.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Encryption at rest does not prevent an authorized-but-compromised identity from changing data. This is the direct weakness in the proposed action.
Incorrect Answers
A:This is an advantage of another design (Design availability through redundant failure domains, controlled failover and recovery testing.), not the particular flaw of Add more disk encryption and assume modification risk is eliminated.
C:This is a limitation elsewhere: A public emergency dispatch platform becomes unavailable whenever its single regional service instance fails. It does not explain the deficiency of the specified proposed approach.
D:This explains a later shift in requirements (The payroll application now must prove who approved each valid salary change.), not the failure of the current proposal.
Question 11
A payroll system has encryption enabled but attackers altered salary amounts through an overly privileged service account. The organization has now implemented this response: Apply integrity-focused authorization, separation of duties and tamper-evident transaction logging. Which observation would MOST directly demonstrate that the security objective was met?
- An approved change ticket for Apply integrity-focused authorization, separation of duties and tamper-evident transaction logging. without a completed verification result.
- A controlled unauthorized-edit test is denied and ledger reconciliation detects attempted tampering.
- A measured regional failure simulation meets approved service recovery objectives.
- A jurisdiction matrix links affected records, evidence, legal basis and approved notification decisions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A controlled unauthorized-edit test is denied and ledger reconciliation detects attempted tampering. This validates that confidentiality encryption does not ensure that only authorized changes affect payroll records.
Incorrect Answers
A:An approved change without an executed test cannot prove operating effectiveness. The needed evidence is A controlled unauthorized-edit test is denied and ledger reconciliation detects attempted tampering.
C:This demonstrates controls in another circumstance: A public emergency dispatch platform becomes unavailable whenever its single regional service instance fails.
D:This other observation is relevant to: An online service detects exposure of personal information stored for customers in multiple countries, and the incident scope is not yet confirmed.
Question 12
A previous security situation was: A payroll system has encryption enabled but attackers altered salary amounts through an overly privileged service account. Now the requirement changes: The payroll application now must prove who approved each valid salary change. Which NEW action BEST answers the changed need?
- A controlled unauthorized-edit test is denied and ledger reconciliation detects attempted tampering.
- Require signed approvals and immutable, attributable change records.
- Apply integrity-focused authorization, separation of duties and tamper-evident transaction logging.
- Add more disk encryption and assume modification risk is eliminated.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Accountable authorization and nonrepudiable evidence meet a stronger audit objective than integrity enforcement alone. The revised action is Require signed approvals and immutable, attributable change records.
Incorrect Answers
A:This is a record of how the initial safeguard would be checked, not an action implementing the newly requested condition: A controlled unauthorized-edit test is denied and ledger reconciliation detects attempted tampering.
C:This is the appropriate response to the original situation: Confidentiality encryption does not ensure that only authorized changes affect payroll records. It does not directly meet the new condition.
D:This remains inappropriate: Encryption at rest does not prevent an authorized-but-compromised identity from changing data.
Question 13
A public emergency dispatch platform becomes unavailable whenever its single regional service instance fails. What should the security manager recommend as the MOST appropriate response to the current requirement?
- Design availability through redundant failure domains, controlled failover and recovery testing.
- Rotate TLS certificates more often as the principal outage prevention measure.
- Enforce strong sender authentication and verify message origin at receiving systems.
- Apply integrity-focused authorization, separation of duties and tamper-evident transaction logging.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Availability requires tolerated component failure, not simply data secrecy or message signing. This directly addresses the stated situation.
Incorrect Answers
B:Certificate hygiene cannot prevent loss of the only running processing location. The proposal would not be defensible for this case.
C:This is appropriate for a later condition (The platform later faces fraudulent messages that falsely claim to originate from the dispatch authority.), but it does not directly resolve the initial need. The changed threat concerns authenticity of messages rather than continuity of service.
D:This response addresses a different condition: A payroll system has encryption enabled but attackers altered salary amounts through an overly privileged service account. The present case requires the measure described by Design availability through redundant failure domains, controlled failover and recovery testing.
Question 14
A public emergency dispatch platform becomes unavailable whenever its single regional service instance fails. A designer proposes: Rotate TLS certificates more often as the principal outage prevention measure. What is the MOST significant security deficiency in this proposal?
- Certificate hygiene cannot prevent loss of the only running processing location.
- Encryption at rest does not prevent an authorized-but-compromised identity from changing data.
- The changed threat concerns authenticity of messages rather than continuity of service.
- Confidentiality encryption does not ensure that only authorized changes affect payroll records.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Certificate hygiene cannot prevent loss of the only running processing location. This is the direct weakness in the proposed action.
Incorrect Answers
B:This is a limitation elsewhere: A payroll system has encryption enabled but attackers altered salary amounts through an overly privileged service account. It does not explain the deficiency of the specified proposed approach.
C:This explains a later shift in requirements (The platform later faces fraudulent messages that falsely claim to originate from the dispatch authority.), not the failure of the current proposal.
D:This is an advantage of another design (Apply integrity-focused authorization, separation of duties and tamper-evident transaction logging.), not the particular flaw of Rotate TLS certificates more often as the principal outage prevention measure.
Question 15
A public emergency dispatch platform becomes unavailable whenever its single regional service instance fails. The team must implement a defensible safeguard AND demonstrate that it works. Which TWO entries form that control-and-evidence pair? (Select TWO.)
- A measured regional failure simulation meets approved service recovery objectives.
- Rotate TLS certificates more often as the principal outage prevention measure.
- Enforce strong sender authentication and verify message origin at receiving systems.
- Apply integrity-focused authorization, separation of duties and tamper-evident transaction logging.
- Design availability through redundant failure domains, controlled failover and recovery testing.
Explanation
Correct Answers
A:Correct verification. The specific evidence is: A measured regional failure simulation meets approved service recovery objectives.
E:Correct control. Availability requires tolerated component failure, not simply data secrecy or message signing.
Incorrect Answers
B:Certificate hygiene cannot prevent loss of the only running processing location.
C:This concerns a later and different need: The platform later faces fraudulent messages that falsely claim to originate from the dispatch authority. The changed threat concerns authenticity of messages rather than continuity of service.
D:The proposed control fits another scenario: A payroll system has encryption enabled but attackers altered salary amounts through an overly privileged service account. It does not directly address this scenario's primary requirement.
Question 16
A previous security situation was: A public emergency dispatch platform becomes unavailable whenever its single regional service instance fails. Now the requirement changes: The platform later faces fraudulent messages that falsely claim to originate from the dispatch authority. Which NEW action BEST answers the changed need?
- Enforce strong sender authentication and verify message origin at receiving systems.
- Design availability through redundant failure domains, controlled failover and recovery testing.
- Rotate TLS certificates more often as the principal outage prevention measure.
- A measured regional failure simulation meets approved service recovery objectives.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The changed threat concerns authenticity of messages rather than continuity of service. The revised action is Enforce strong sender authentication and verify message origin at receiving systems.
Incorrect Answers
B:This is the appropriate response to the original situation: Availability requires tolerated component failure, not simply data secrecy or message signing. It does not directly meet the new condition.
C:This remains inappropriate: Certificate hygiene cannot prevent loss of the only running processing location.
D:This is a record of how the initial safeguard would be checked, not an action implementing the newly requested condition: A measured regional failure simulation meets approved service recovery objectives.
Question 17
A company is acquiring a software provider that operates a regulated customer-data platform, but management has not assessed the target's controls. Which recommendation should the security leader make FIRST to address the stated objective?
- Establish ongoing supplier/control monitoring tied to access rights and contractual obligations.
- Require acquisition security due diligence and accountable risk ownership before approving integration.
- Connect the acquired network immediately and rely on remediation after closing.
- A signed due-diligence risk register identifies owners, material gaps, integration gates and treatment decisions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Pre-integration risk assessment aligns the transaction with governance and informs conditions on data and network trust. The scenario is: A company is acquiring a software provider that operates a regulated customer-data platform, but management has not assessed the target's controls.
Incorrect Answers
A:This addresses a distinct subsequent requirement: After closing, the acquired firm maintains privileged support access under a multi-year service agreement. Recurring third-party assurance is needed after acquisition; one-time diligence is not continuous oversight.
C:Premature trust exposes both firms before inherited identity, infrastructure and compliance risks are understood. The rejected action is: Connect the acquired network immediately and rely on remediation after closing.
D:This is useful evidence after implementation, rather than the FIRST recommended decision for this objective. A signed due-diligence risk register identifies owners, material gaps, integration gates and treatment decisions.
Question 18
A company is acquiring a software provider that operates a regulated customer-data platform, but management has not assessed the target's controls. A colleague instead proposes: "Connect the acquired network immediately and rely on remediation after closing." Which finding BEST explains why the proposal should be rejected?
- No evidence or governance records should be retained when evaluating this 1.3 decision.
- Premature trust exposes both firms before inherited identity, infrastructure and compliance risks are understood.
- Its only deficiency is a missing executive signature, even if the design still fails the stated requirement.
- It is inadequate only because of a different later condition: After closing, the acquired firm maintains privileged support access under a multi-year service agreement.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Premature trust exposes both firms before inherited identity, infrastructure and compliance risks are understood. This directly invalidates the proposed action: Connect the acquired network immediately and rely on remediation after closing.
Incorrect Answers
A:Destroying records would weaken oversight and cannot remedy the immediate technical or governance flaw: Premature trust exposes both firms before inherited identity, infrastructure and compliance risks are understood.
C:Approval alone cannot fix the specific weakness: Premature trust exposes both firms before inherited identity, infrastructure and compliance risks are understood.
D:The subsequent circumstance is separate and does not explain why this proposed action fails the initial case. Recurring third-party assurance is needed after acquisition; one-time diligence is not continuous oversight.
Question 19
A company is acquiring a software provider that operates a regulated customer-data platform, but management has not assessed the target's controls. After implementing "Require acquisition security due diligence and accountable risk ownership before approving integration.", what evidence BEST demonstrates that the intended security outcome is functioning?
- A meeting record that the alternate design "Establish ongoing supplier/control monitoring tied to access rights and contractual obligations." was discussed but never tested.
- A signed due-diligence risk register identifies owners, material gaps, integration gates and treatment decisions.
- A note proposing to test this exact 1.3 measure in a future quarter.
- A declaration that no incident has been reported, without exercising the relevant control.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A signed due-diligence risk register identifies owners, material gaps, integration gates and treatment decisions. This verifies the original requirement because pre-integration risk assessment aligns the transaction with governance and informs conditions on data and network trust.
Incorrect Answers
A:Discussion of a different design does not demonstrate the deployed control. Recurring third-party assurance is needed after acquisition; one-time diligence is not continuous oversight.
C:An unexecuted future plan does not prove current effectiveness for the stated 1.3 objective. The evidence should include: A signed due-diligence risk register identifies owners, material gaps, integration gates and treatment decisions.
D:Absence of reported incidents is not a controlled validation of the requirement. A stronger proof is: A signed due-diligence risk register identifies owners, material gaps, integration gates and treatment decisions.
Question 20
The organization previously faced this problem: A company is acquiring a software provider that operates a regulated customer-data platform, but management has not assessed the target's controls. Its requirement then changes: After closing, the acquired firm maintains privileged support access under a multi-year service agreement. Which revised action BEST meets the new requirement?
- Keep the original 1.3 policy unchanged, and defer the newly identified requirement without a risk decision.
- Establish ongoing supplier/control monitoring tied to access rights and contractual obligations.
- Require acquisition security due diligence and accountable risk ownership before approving integration.
- Connect the acquired network immediately and rely on remediation after closing.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recurring third-party assurance is needed after acquisition; one-time diligence is not continuous oversight. The appropriate revised action is: Establish ongoing supplier/control monitoring tied to access rights and contractual obligations.
Incorrect Answers
A:The new requirement needs an accountable response, not automatic deferral. Recurring third-party assurance is needed after acquisition; one-time diligence is not continuous oversight.
C:This addresses the original situation: Pre-integration risk assessment aligns the transaction with governance and informs conditions on data and network trust. It does not directly meet the changed requirement: After closing, the acquired firm maintains privileged support access under a multi-year service agreement.
D:The earlier rejected approach remains inappropriate. Premature trust exposes both firms before inherited identity, infrastructure and compliance risks are understood.