ISC CISSP Practice Test 20
Question 190
A previous security situation was: A retail analytics team retains raw customer browsing events indefinitely despite a documented ninety-day operational need. Now the requirement changes: The fraud team later shows a documented lawful need for a limited longer retention subset. Which NEW action BEST answers the changed need?
- Scheduled deletion logs and independent samples confirm ninety-day cutoff and approved exceptions.
- Create separately scoped retention with approved purpose, access and expiry.
- Enforce purpose-bound retention and automated deletion or aggregation at the approved endpoint.
- Retain raw identifiable histories forever to preserve hypothetical future use.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:An evidence-based exception can preserve necessary data without indefinite general retention. The revised action is Create separately scoped retention with approved purpose, access and expiry.
Incorrect Answers
A:This is a record of how the initial safeguard would be checked, not an action implementing the newly requested condition: Scheduled deletion logs and independent samples confirm ninety-day cutoff and approved exceptions.
C:This is the appropriate response to the original situation: Longer-than-needed storage enlarges privacy, breach and discovery exposure. It does not directly meet the new condition.
D:This remains inappropriate: Speculative use does not justify indefinite personal data retention.
Question 191
A research organization wants secure erasure of solid-state drives before disposal, but overwriting reports may not cover spare blocks. What should the security manager recommend as the MOST appropriate response to the current requirement?
- Use a media-appropriate validated sanitization method such as supported cryptographic erase or destruction.
- Depend on one ordinary file deletion and quick formatting of SSDs.
- Quarantine the drive with protected evidence custody instead of sanitizing it.
- Map all primary and replica data locations and ensure approved residency and contractual rules.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Flash wear leveling can leave data beyond ordinary overwrite commands. This directly addresses the stated situation.
Incorrect Answers
B:Filesystem deletion and formatting do not guarantee removal of remanent flash data. The proposal would not be defensible for this case.
C:This is appropriate for a later condition (Legal counsel determines a drive must be preserved for litigation.), but it does not directly resolve the initial need. Legal preservation suspends ordinary disposal even where sanitized retirement was planned.
D:This response addresses a different condition: A public-sector agency stores backup copies in a region with a different legal jurisdiction than its production database. The present case requires the measure described by Use a media-appropriate validated sanitization method such as supported cryptographic erase or destruction.
Question 192
A research organization wants secure erasure of solid-state drives before disposal, but overwriting reports may not cover spare blocks. A designer proposes: Depend on one ordinary file deletion and quick formatting of SSDs. What is the MOST significant security deficiency in this proposal?
- Filesystem deletion and formatting do not guarantee removal of remanent flash data.
- Deleting a folder does not eliminate snapshots, caches or unallocated storage.
- Legal preservation suspends ordinary disposal even where sanitized retirement was planned.
- Hidden data copies and remanence persist beyond application-level migration.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Filesystem deletion and formatting do not guarantee removal of remanent flash data. This is the direct weakness in the proposed action.
Incorrect Answers
B:This is a limitation elsewhere: A manufacturer decommissions a storage array after moving confidential designs, but snapshots and spare disks remain attached. It does not explain the deficiency of the specified proposed approach.
C:This explains a later shift in requirements (Legal counsel determines a drive must be preserved for litigation.), not the failure of the current proposal.
D:This is an advantage of another design (Inventory every volume, snapshot, cache and media component and sanitize them under approved disposition procedures.), not the particular flaw of Depend on one ordinary file deletion and quick formatting of SSDs.
Question 193
A research organization wants secure erasure of solid-state drives before disposal, but overwriting reports may not cover spare blocks. The organization has now implemented this response: Use a media-appropriate validated sanitization method such as supported cryptographic erase or destruction. Which observation would MOST directly demonstrate that the security objective was met?
- The disposal log includes device serial, approved sanitization method and verified outcome.
- Provider attestation and contract checks identify residual copies, dates and deletion methods.
- Signed sanitization records reconcile array serials, component inventory and verified disposition.
- An approved change ticket for Use a media-appropriate validated sanitization method such as supported cryptographic erase or destruction. without a completed verification result.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The disposal log includes device serial, approved sanitization method and verified outcome. This validates that flash wear leveling can leave data beyond ordinary overwrite commands.
Incorrect Answers
B:This demonstrates controls in another circumstance: A SaaS tenant's subscription ends but its data deletion terms do not address old snapshots and vendor subcontractors.
C:This other observation is relevant to: A manufacturer decommissions a storage array after moving confidential designs, but snapshots and spare disks remain attached. In the current case, the assessed requirement is: A research organization wants secure erasure of solid-state drives before disposal, but overwriting reports may not cover spare blocks. The organization has now implemented this response: Use a media-appropriate validated sanitization method such as supported cryptographic erase or destruction. Which observation would MOST directly demonstrate that the security objective was met.
D:An approved change without an executed test cannot prove operating effectiveness. The needed evidence is The disposal log includes device serial, approved sanitization method and verified outcome.
Question 194
A previous security situation was: A research organization wants secure erasure of solid-state drives before disposal, but overwriting reports may not cover spare blocks. Now the requirement changes: Legal counsel determines a drive must be preserved for litigation. Which NEW action BEST answers the changed need?
- Quarantine the drive with protected evidence custody instead of sanitizing it.
- Use a media-appropriate validated sanitization method such as supported cryptographic erase or destruction.
- Depend on one ordinary file deletion and quick formatting of SSDs.
- The disposal log includes device serial, approved sanitization method and verified outcome.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Legal preservation suspends ordinary disposal even where sanitized retirement was planned. The revised action is Quarantine the drive with protected evidence custody instead of sanitizing it.
Incorrect Answers
B:This is the appropriate response to the original situation: Flash wear leveling can leave data beyond ordinary overwrite commands. It does not directly meet the new condition.
C:This remains inappropriate: Filesystem deletion and formatting do not guarantee removal of remanent flash data.
D:This is a record of how the initial safeguard would be checked, not an action implementing the newly requested condition: The disposal log includes device serial, approved sanitization method and verified outcome.
Question 195
A public-sector agency stores backup copies in a region with a different legal jurisdiction than its production database. The team must implement a defensible safeguard AND demonstrate that it works. Which TWO entries form that control-and-evidence pair? (Select TWO.)
- Map all primary and replica data locations and ensure approved residency and contractual rules.
- Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations.
- Check production region only and declare all copies compliant.
- Review transfer legality and approved safeguards before moving backup data.
- Inventory every volume, snapshot, cache and media component and sanitize them under approved disposition procedures.
Explanation
Correct Answers
A:Correct control. Data location includes replicas and backups, not merely primary database configuration.
B:Correct verification. The specific evidence is: Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations.
Incorrect Answers
C:Untracked replicas can violate residency obligations despite compliant production placement.
D:This concerns a later and different need: The agency migrates to a new disaster recovery provider in another country. Provider or region change reopens jurisdictional controls.
E:The proposed control fits another scenario: A manufacturer decommissions a storage array after moving confidential designs, but snapshots and spare disks remain attached. It does not directly address this scenario's primary requirement.
Question 196
A public-sector agency stores backup copies in a region with a different legal jurisdiction than its production database. A designer proposes: Check production region only and declare all copies compliant. What is the MOST significant security deficiency in this proposal?
- Service cancellation does not prove secure deletion or expiry of retained backups.
- Provider or region change reopens jurisdictional controls.
- Lifecycle controls include copies held by processors and transient backups.
- Untracked replicas can violate residency obligations despite compliant production placement.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Untracked replicas can violate residency obligations despite compliant production placement. This is the direct weakness in the proposed action.
Incorrect Answers
A:This is a limitation elsewhere: A SaaS tenant's subscription ends but its data deletion terms do not address old snapshots and vendor subcontractors. It does not explain the deficiency of the specified proposed approach.
B:This explains a later shift in requirements (The agency migrates to a new disaster recovery provider in another country.), not the failure of the current proposal.
C:This is an advantage of another design (Agree on verified deletion scope, backup expiry and subprocessor disposition evidence.), not the particular flaw of Check production region only and declare all copies compliant.
Question 197
A public-sector agency stores backup copies in a region with a different legal jurisdiction than its production database. The organization has now implemented this response: Map all primary and replica data locations and ensure approved residency and contractual rules. Which observation would MOST directly demonstrate that the security objective was met?
- Scheduled deletion logs and independent samples confirm ninety-day cutoff and approved exceptions.
- Provider attestation and contract checks identify residual copies, dates and deletion methods.
- An approved change ticket for Map all primary and replica data locations and ensure approved residency and contractual rules. without a completed verification result.
- Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations. This validates that data location includes replicas and backups, not merely primary database configuration.
Incorrect Answers
A:This demonstrates controls in another circumstance: A retail analytics team retains raw customer browsing events indefinitely despite a documented ninety-day operational need.
B:This other observation is relevant to: A SaaS tenant's subscription ends but its data deletion terms do not address old snapshots and vendor subcontractors.
C:An approved change without an executed test cannot prove operating effectiveness. The needed evidence is Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations.
Question 198
A previous security situation was: A public-sector agency stores backup copies in a region with a different legal jurisdiction than its production database. Now the requirement changes: The agency migrates to a new disaster recovery provider in another country. Which NEW action BEST answers the changed need?
- Map all primary and replica data locations and ensure approved residency and contractual rules.
- Check production region only and declare all copies compliant.
- Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations.
- Review transfer legality and approved safeguards before moving backup data.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Provider or region change reopens jurisdictional controls. The revised action is Review transfer legality and approved safeguards before moving backup data.
Incorrect Answers
A:This is the appropriate response to the original situation: Data location includes replicas and backups, not merely primary database configuration. It does not directly meet the new condition.
B:This remains inappropriate: Untracked replicas can violate residency obligations despite compliant production placement.
C:This is a record of how the initial safeguard would be checked, not an action implementing the newly requested condition: Cloud inventory and replication policies demonstrate every copy remains in approved locations.
Question 199
A manufacturer decommissions a storage array after moving confidential designs, but snapshots and spare disks remain attached. What should the security manager recommend as the MOST appropriate response to the current requirement?
- Migrate required records into a protected governed archive before wiping retired media.
- Agree on verified deletion scope, backup expiry and subprocessor disposition evidence.
- Inventory every volume, snapshot, cache and media component and sanitize them under approved disposition procedures.
- Remove only the top-level application folder and auction the array.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Hidden data copies and remanence persist beyond application-level migration. This directly addresses the stated situation.
Incorrect Answers
A:This is appropriate for a later condition (Certain engineering records must be retained as a legal archive.), but it does not directly resolve the initial need. Retention obligations and secure disposal must be reconciled, not treated as competing guesses.
B:This response addresses a different condition: A SaaS tenant's subscription ends but its data deletion terms do not address old snapshots and vendor subcontractors. The present case requires the measure described by Inventory every volume, snapshot, cache and media component and sanitize them under approved disposition procedures.
D:Deleting a folder does not eliminate snapshots, caches or unallocated storage. The proposal would not be defensible for this case.
Question 200
A manufacturer decommissions a storage array after moving confidential designs, but snapshots and spare disks remain attached. A designer proposes: Remove only the top-level application folder and auction the array. What is the MOST significant security deficiency in this proposal?
- Retention obligations and secure disposal must be reconciled, not treated as competing guesses.
- Longer-than-needed storage enlarges privacy, breach and discovery exposure.
- Deleting a folder does not eliminate snapshots, caches or unallocated storage.
- Speculative use does not justify indefinite personal data retention.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Deleting a folder does not eliminate snapshots, caches or unallocated storage. This is the direct weakness in the proposed action.
Incorrect Answers
A:This explains a later shift in requirements (Certain engineering records must be retained as a legal archive.), not the failure of the current proposal.
B:This is an advantage of another design (Enforce purpose-bound retention and automated deletion or aggregation at the approved endpoint.), not the particular flaw of Remove only the top-level application folder and auction the array.
D:This is a limitation elsewhere: A retail analytics team retains raw customer browsing events indefinitely despite a documented ninety-day operational need. It does not explain the deficiency of the specified proposed approach.