ISC² CGRC Exam Dump and Braindump

A fintech startup is assigning a security classification to a newly deployed information system. Which of the following is not a recognized security impact level under NIST standards?

• ❏ A. Critical

• ❏ B. Low

• ❏ C. Moderate

• ❏ D. Extreme

Which statement correctly reflects how external regulators treat system classification in relation to compliance?

• ❏ A. Cloud Asset Inventory

• ❏ B. Incorrect classification of systems may lead to audit findings and financial penalties

• ❏ C. Compliance frameworks never refer to system classification

• ❏ D. System classification is only relevant for internal risk assessments and not for external audits

Which item is not usually produced during the Prepare stage of a governance risk and compliance program?

• ❏ A. An organization wide strategy for continuous monitoring developed and implemented

• ❏ B. Common controls identified and mapped to business activities

• ❏ C. A process to report security and privacy posture to executives established

• ❏ D. An enterprise risk management strategy established and overall risk tolerance determined

During a cybersecurity review at a regional software company which team member is typically responsible for providing detailed technical information about servers network settings and known vulnerabilities?

• ❏ A. Legal Counsel

• ❏ B. Cloud Network Engineer

• ❏ C. System Administrator

• ❏ D. Site Reliability Engineer

A regional aerospace supplier is adopting the NIST Risk Management Framework for its information systems and you are managing the Controls Implementation phase. The technology landscape includes on premises systems cloud services and industrial control systems and stakeholders include IT plant automation staff and outside vendors. What action is most critical to ensure security controls are implemented effectively in this mixed environment during the Controls Implementation phase?

• ❏ A. Automate control enforcement across cloud and on premises environments using infrastructure as code and centralized templates

• ❏ B. Apply every control from NIST SP 800-53 without exception to achieve the broadest coverage

• ❏ C. Collaborate with IT plant automation engineers and external vendors to tailor and validate control baselines so they are relevant effective and account for interdependencies

• ❏ D. Concentrate primary efforts on securing the local data centers because they are perceived as the highest risk in a hybrid deployment

Which action best exemplifies risk avoidance in an operational program?

• ❏ A. Implementing controls to reduce the likelihood or impact of the risk

• ❏ B. Shifting responsibility to a third party vendor

• ❏ C. Stopping the task that produces the exposure

• ❏ D. Choosing to accept the potential outcome without taking measures

When applying NIST SP 800-53 controls to an information system what approach is recommended?

• ❏ A. Implement all controls at the greatest level of stringency possible

• ❏ B. Tailor the security controls to the system’s particular requirements and risk profile

• ❏ C. Deploy only the least set of controls deemed necessary

• ❏ D. Cloud Security Command Center

A regional online retailer named Harbor Lane has moved many operations to the cloud and updated its services. Why should Harbor Lane periodically review and revise its security documentation?

• ❏ A. To improve incident response capabilities and audit readiness

• ❏ B. To reduce reliance on outside security consultants

• ❏ C. To keep policies and procedures aligned with evolving threats technologies and regulatory obligations

• ❏ D. To lower the number of internal security training sessions

A regional fintech firm is preparing for an independent review of its information security measures and controls. The assessment team will examine the implemented safeguards and report on their purpose. What is the primary objective of a security controls audit?

• ❏ A. Confirm that the system follows applicable laws and standards

• ❏ B. Evaluate how well implemented security controls reduce known risks and weaknesses

• ❏ C. Find additional vulnerabilities and new threats within the system

• ❏ D. Measure the enterprise level security posture and capability maturity

When scoping the effort for a security assessment at a regional credit union called Harborview Trust why must the team factor in the entity’s risk appetite and regulatory security expectations?

• ❏ A. It identifies which cloud assets such as Cloud Storage and Compute Engine must be in scope

• ❏ B. It helps set the amount of funding allocated to cybersecurity efforts

• ❏ C. It ensures the assessment focuses on the organization’s business objectives and acceptable threat level

• ❏ D. It determines how frequently employees must complete security awareness training

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Why is ongoing education important for Authorizing Officials and Security Control Assessors during the authorization process?

• ❏ A. Security Command Center

• ❏ B. To keep Authorizing Officials and Security Control Assessors current on evolving threats and guidance

• ❏ C. To allow them to hand off all accountability to external parties

• ❏ D. To enable circumvention of regulatory and contractual requirements

Meridian Cargo a mid sized freight company has deployed firewalls, intrusion detection devices and endpoint antivirus across its network and it experienced several successful intrusions over the past three months which suggests the protections are not effective as expected?

• ❏ A. Cloud Logging

• ❏ B. Insufficient training for IT and security staff

• ❏ C. Missing or inaccurate network asset inventory

• ❏ D. Outdated security controls that have not been updated to address new threats

A regional fintech startup named HarborLight is vetting external cloud and data partners. What action should the organization take first to manage cybersecurity risks posed by those third parties?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Include binding security requirements in supplier contracts

• ❏ C. Perform a comprehensive vendor security risk assessment

• ❏ D. Share all internal security policies with every third party

What is a major difficulty when applying secure configuration management across today’s mixed IT landscapes?

• ❏ A. Inconsistent policy enforcement across multiple cloud projects

• ❏ B. Google Cloud Deployment Manager

• ❏ C. Heterogeneous infrastructures across public cloud, on-premise, and IoT devices

• ❏ D. Many users granted identical roles

How would you describe an enterprise’s risk posture and its readiness to handle cybersecurity threats?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. The company’s tolerance for exposure to threats

• ❏ C. The firm’s strategy for addressing discovered risks

• ❏ D. The overall condition of an organization’s risk management and cyber readiness

A security control assessor at Nimbus Systems is responsible for evaluating the controls that were put in place during the Implementation phase. What is the most important factor to consider when monitoring those security controls?

• ❏ A. Confirming that all planned security controls have been deployed

• ❏ B. Verifying that the security controls are achieving their risk reduction objectives

• ❏ C. Ensuring controls align with applicable compliance and regulatory requirements

• ❏ D. Making sure the controls are manageable and support automation of routine tasks

Which of the following is not regarded as a core component of an information security management system?

• ❏ A. Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

• ❏ B. Security controls

• ❏ C. Risk assessment

• ❏ D. Continual improvement processes

How might modifications to an organization’s information system or its runtime environment affect security and operations?

• ❏ A. Ongoing maintenance and support expenses decrease

• ❏ B. Cloud Monitoring

• ❏ C. New security vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are introduced

• ❏ D. Overall system efficiency and staff productivity improve

At which phase of the software development life cycle is a new solution first defined and classified?

• ❏ A. Requirements analysis

• ❏ B. Implementation phase

• ❏ C. Project initiation phase

• ❏ D. Operations phase

A product owner at SilverHarbor Labs found a flaw in a service and is weighing compensating controls to address the issue. What consideration should drive the choice of compensating controls?

• ❏ A. Regulatory and compliance obligations

• ❏ B. How effectively the compensating controls reduce the identified risk

• ❏ C. The cost to implement the compensating controls

• ❏ D. Compatibility with the existing infrastructure and operational feasibility

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

A regional finance firm is evaluating automated solutions to support their security control assessments as part of their information security program. What benefit does automation bring to conducting and maintaining control assessments?

• ❏ A. Google Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Automation guarantees flawless implementation of all security controls

• ❏ C. Automation reduces the effort and duration of assessments by enabling continuous monitoring and near real time reporting

• ❏ D. Automation removes the need for any human assessment tasks

What is a primary advantage of operating continuous risk monitoring within an organization’s security program?

• ❏ A. Streamlines consolidation of risk metrics and reporting

• ❏ B. Enhances audit trails using Cloud Audit Logs

• ❏ C. Provides immediate identification and remediation of emerging threats

• ❏ D. Reduces reliance on periodic formal risk reviews

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act what safeguards must a regional clinic network implement to secure patient records?

• ❏ A. Limit controls to email encryption only

• ❏ B. Deploy strong access controls, audit logs, controlled physical access and administrative procedures

• ❏ C. Implement only technical protections such as firewalls and endpoint security

• ❏ D. Rely exclusively on Cloud IAM and logging without physical safeguards

How do contractual audit provisions help customers when they engage third party suppliers?

• ❏ A. They grant customers ownership of the supplier’s hosted data

• ❏ B. They enable customers to verify that the supplier is operating the agreed upon security controls

• ❏ C. They remove the need for customers to use platform auditing services such as Cloud Audit Logs

• ❏ D. They allow customers to withhold payment for services that do not meet their expectations

A regional retail chain that uses a third party named Meridian Vault for cloud object storage has reported a security incident. There is no indication that our files were accessed yet the risk to our data remains material. What should the organization do immediately to manage the exposure?

• ❏ A. Notify regulators and affected customers immediately

• ❏ B. Conduct a targeted risk assessment and implement strengthened security controls for the vendor services

• ❏ C. Terminate the provider contract without delay

• ❏ D. Pause all data synchronizations to the vendor pending investigation

Following the presentation what was the primary characterization of decommissioning IT systems in terms of organizational strategy?

• ❏ A. It is chiefly about terminating supplier agreements and legal closure

• ❏ B. It is a routine administrative task with no strategic value

• ❏ C. It is a strategic chance to capture lessons learned and fuel continuous improvement

• ❏ D. It is mainly a compliance and archival operation with emphasis on records retention

While reviewing a security audit report for a payments startup named Shoreline Labs what is an appropriate step to take when assessing the findings?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Rank suggested security controls by risk impact and available budget and staff

• ❏ C. Apply every recommended security control regardless of cost or feasibility

• ❏ D. Set aside discovered vulnerabilities labeled as low risk without further tracking

A medium sized industrial firm called Crestline Fabrication is adopting the NIST Risk Management Framework for its information systems. You are the authorization lead responsible for the Controls Implementation phase. The infrastructure is hybrid and includes on site systems cloud services and industrial control systems. Several stakeholder groups are involved including IT operations operational technology engineers and third party vendors. What action is most critical to ensure security controls are implemented successfully in this complex environment?

• ❏ A. Deploy automated configuration and continuous compliance pipelines using infrastructure as code and policy enforcement

• ❏ B. Apply every control in NIST SP 800 53 without assessing applicability to the organization

• ❏ C. Work with all stakeholders to customize and approve control baselines so they fit the environment and account for interdependencies

• ❏ D. Prioritize implementing controls only for on site infrastructure because it is perceived as the highest risk

Which of the following represents a well defined objective for a university’s security and privacy initiative?

• ❏ A. Enhance overall security posture

• ❏ B. VPC Service Controls

• ❏ C. Recruit additional IT personnel

• ❏ D. Attain compliance with the newly introduced privacy regulation within 90 days

Which practice is necessary to maintain the long term effectiveness of security controls after they are deployed?

• ❏ A. Performing continuous vulnerability scanning and automated alerting

• ❏ B. Updating security policies once every year

• ❏ C. Conducting a single compliance audit immediately after deployment

• ❏ D. Ongoing control monitoring and scheduled reviews

A regional nonprofit needs a consistent approach to manage its governance and policy files across teams and audits. What is the primary purpose of applying version control to governance documents?

• ❏ A. Cloud Storage lifecycle rules

• ❏ B. Allowing all staff to edit the live copy without recording revisions

• ❏ C. Restricting document access solely to senior executives

• ❏ D. Keeping documents current and auditable while preserving prior revisions

A regional industrial supplier called Keystone Robotics is adopting the NIST Risk Management Framework to protect its information systems. You are the authorization lead responsible for the Controls Implementation phase. The environment combines on-premises data centers cloud services and industrial control systems and there are stakeholders across IT ICS engineering and third-party vendors. Which action is most critical to ensure the security controls are implemented successfully in this complex hybrid environment?

• ❏ A. Use Google Cloud Security Command Center to automate detection and enforcement of controls across cloud assets

• ❏ B. Apply every control in NIST SP 800-53 to the environment regardless of relevance

• ❏ C. Collaborate with IT ICS engineers and external vendors to adapt control baselines to Keystone Robotics’ specific environment ensuring controls are relevant effective and account for interdependencies

• ❏ D. Concentrate implementation efforts only on the on-premises infrastructure because it is perceived as the most at risk

At a firm such as Meridian Tech a system owner is charged with managing security risks for an application. What is a primary duty of the system owner when overseeing the system’s information security?

• ❏ A. Running penetration tests and vulnerability scans

• ❏ B. Granting project IAM roles and keeping audit logs

• ❏ C. Ensuring the system is operated and maintained in compliance with security requirements

• ❏ D. Developing enterprise wide risk management policies

A multinational maritime logistics firm chose not to add further defenses after a security assessor reported a denial of service weakness. What is the most plausible reason for that choice?

• ❏ A. The probability of a denial of service incident is unknown

• ❏ B. Existing protections reduce the threat to an acceptable level

• ❏ C. The cost to implement the mitigation is greater than the asset value and expected loss

• ❏ D. Implementing the recommended control is too complex to execute

Why do practitioners say that reconciling security requirements with operational goals is both an art and a science?

• ❏ A. VPC Service Controls

• ❏ B. It merges formal methodologies with flexible context aware judgment

• ❏ C. It removes the requirement for measurable data and metrics

• ❏ D. It relies only on subjective intuition

NovusTech is scheduling a security evaluation of its enterprise information platform. The platform spans many interdependent services and applications. Which testing approach is likely to require the greatest level of effort?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center assessment

• ❏ B. Social engineering exercises

• ❏ C. Automated vulnerability scanning

• ❏ D. Penetration testing engagement

A European payments startup called AuroraPay is evaluating a new analytics pipeline that processes account details and device identifiers and needs to know when a privacy impact assessment is mandated under GDPR. Which factor is the main determinant of whether a DPIA is required?

• ❏ A. Whether the processing is likely to create a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms

• ❏ B. The total number of personal records that will be handled

• ❏ C. Whether personal data will be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area

• ❏ D. The size and staffing levels of the organisation operating the processing

Which approach is not advocated by ISO/IEC 27001 when organizations apply information security controls?

• ❏ A. Supporting security across the entire system lifecycle

• ❏ B. Cloud Identity

• ❏ C. Protecting organizational and stakeholder confidence

• ❏ D. Relying on a one size fits all checklist

Why should a security operations team continuously observe the changing threat environment and adjust defenses accordingly?

• ❏ A. To guide risk management and prioritize security controls

• ❏ B. To discover new and evolving attack techniques

• ❏ C. All of these reasons

• ❏ D. To ensure systems are not exposed to known exploits

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

A regional retail firm called Meridian Shops is facing a compliance inspection and reviewers have asked to see documentation and proof of control activities. Which practice most reliably ensures the company remains prepared for such inspections?

• ❏ A. Provide staff education programs on compliance obligations and audit procedures

• ❏ B. Maintain a centralized, continuously updated compliance records repository

• ❏ C. Automate evidence collection using Cloud Asset Inventory and Cloud Audit Logs

• ❏ D. Hold regular internal reviews to detect and remediate compliance gaps

Which of the following steps most clearly represents risk avoidance within a firm’s risk management strategy?

• ❏ A. Outsourcing a high risk function to an external vendor

• ❏ B. Decommissioning a service that handles confidential customer records

• ❏ C. Buying a cybersecurity insurance policy to cover potential breach losses

• ❏ D. Implementing layered security controls and continuous monitoring to reduce vulnerabilities

A regional credit union deployed a new payments platform that includes a database node an application server and a web tier on the internal network. The IT staff followed security baselines and completed several assessments to meet compliance. The security team now plans to introduce continuous configuration monitoring to improve defenses. What is the principal advantage of continuously monitoring system configurations in this situation?

• ❏ A. Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Remove the need for scheduled compliance audits

• ❏ C. Detect configuration drift and vulnerabilities that could permit unauthorized access

• ❏ D. Maintain optimal system performance and resource efficiency

A regional financial services firm has found that a staff member uses easily guessed passwords which could allow unauthorized access to critical systems. Previous security awareness sessions did not correct the employee’s behavior and the risk remains. What step should the firm take to fix this particular weakness and prevent similar problems going forward?

• ❏ A. Cloud Identity

• ❏ B. Update the password requirements and mandate multi factor authentication for user accounts

• ❏ C. Temporarily suspend the user until they complete mandatory security training

• ❏ D. Terminate the employee to set an example

A regional nonprofit is classifying a new IT system that will store and handle sensitive information that is not essential to its core services. Which security categorization level best fits this system?

• ❏ A. High

• ❏ B. Low

• ❏ C. Extreme

• ❏ D. Moderate

Nexera Solutions security authorizing official has been notified that recent threat intelligence raises the chance that a formerly low risk vulnerability could now be exploited. What action should the authorizing official take in response to this updated threat information?

• ❏ A. Request a focused update to the security control assessment that targets the specific vulnerability

• ❏ B. Defer any changes until the next scheduled security control assessment

• ❏ C. Coordinate with the system owner and the security team to reassess the heightened risk and determine appropriate mitigations

• ❏ D. Apply temporary compensating controls such as stricter access rules and increased monitoring while the situation is analyzed

Summit Analytics is adopting a set of security controls derived from NIST SP 800-53 across its information systems and the security team discovered that several controls will require substantial configuration or customization to fit company requirements. What is the most appropriate course of action?

• ❏ A. Choose alternative controls that achieve the same security objectives

• ❏ B. Tailor the controls to meet company requirements while ensuring they still fulfill security requirements

• ❏ C. Apply the controls as written even if they do not fully meet company needs

• ❏ D. Cloud Security Command Center

While a regional fintech firm chooses security controls for a new platform which activity would not normally take place during the control selection phase?

• ❏ A. Assigning controls to system components

• ❏ B. Implementing Cloud Audit Logs and Cloud Monitoring configurations

• ❏ C. Evaluating controls through testing and measurement

• ❏ D. Customizing baseline controls to match system requirements

A state public health department is seeking authorization for a new records system that houses extremely sensitive patient information and is critical to mission operations. A security controls assessment found several vulnerabilities that need remediation. The system manager is reluctant to implement the suggested controls because of limited budget and concerns about degrading application throughput. What should the authorization board do in this situation?

• ❏ A. Revise the proposed security controls to lower cost and reduce their impact on system throughput

• ❏ B. Issue a temporary authorization contingent on a documented plan to accept and manage the identified risks

• ❏ C. Recommend and document compensating safeguards that mitigate the identified risks while fitting the budget and performance constraints

• ❏ D. Deny authorization until all of the recommended security controls are fully implemented

At which phase of the software development lifecycle should the authorization perimeter for a project be defined?

• ❏ A. Operations and maintenance

• ❏ B. Project startup and scoping

• ❏ C. Development and unit testing

• ❏ D. Deployment and rollout

How would you define control volatility when discussing technical security safeguards?

• ❏ A. Misconfigured Cloud IAM policies that permit unintended access

• ❏ B. The probability that configuration drift will cause a control to become noncompliant

• ❏ C. The risk that changes in the system or its external environment will render a control ineffective

• ❏ D. The degree to which a control’s implementation is expected to change over time

BlueHarbor’s security team discovered a vulnerability during a scheduled security review that could critically affect a core application. How should BlueHarbor respond to address this vulnerability?

• ❏ A. Immediately power off the affected system until the issue is resolved

• ❏ B. Apply an interim mitigation to reduce the vulnerability’s risk while planning and deploying a permanent fix

• ❏ C. Open a formal incident and escalate to the patch management team for scheduled remediation

• ❏ D. Continue normal operations and ignore the vulnerability

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Vector Systems is evaluating security controls for a recently launched information system and wants to categorize controls by their role in security operations. Which of the following is an example of a detective control?

• ❏ A. Identity and access management controls

• ❏ B. Security incident and event management systems

• ❏ C. Backup and restore procedures

• ❏ D. Encryption of data at rest and in transit

Why should representatives from several departments take part in selecting security controls for an organization?

• ❏ A. To meet external regulatory and audit requirements

• ❏ B. To keep a detailed audit trail of decisions and implementation steps

• ❏ C. To ensure the chosen controls support organizational objectives and reflect a range of perspectives

• ❏ D. To validate technical feasibility with application owners and infrastructure engineers

What is the primary hazard when a company decommissions systems without preserving required backups and retention copies?

• ❏ A. Residual permissions or misconfiguration that increase the chance of data exposure

• ❏ B. Unexpected rise in storage and retention costs from keeping obsolete backups

• ❏ C. Permanent loss of records that triggers regulatory breaches and audit failures

• ❏ D. Temporary reduction in network throughput during shutdown and migration tasks

A regional credit union plans to transfer its customer records to a cloud provider. Which risks should be evaluated and which security controls should be put in place to reduce those risks?

• ❏ A. Operational failures and data loss including service outages and latency and mitigations like multi region replication Cloud Load Balancing and routine backups

• ❏ B. Risks to confidentiality and regulatory compliance such as data breaches and unauthorized access and mitigations like strong encryption centralized identity management and scheduled compliance audits

• ❏ C. Incomplete transfers loss of control over records and poor vendor transition plans mitigated by staged testing formal service agreements and documented exit procedures

• ❏ D. All of these risks and controls should be taken into account

Why do small nonprofits or early stage firms often implement only a subset of the NIST SP 800-53 controls instead of applying them all?

• ❏ A. They depend on Google Cloud managed services to handle many security controls

• ❏ B. They have abundant staff and can apply every control immediately

• ❏ C. They assume no compliance requirements apply to them

• ❏ D. They have limited budgets and therefore concentrate implementation on controls that mitigate the highest risks

Which software development lifecycle approach fits initiatives that demand strict regulatory oversight and comprehensive documentation at each step?

• ❏ A. Spiral model

• ❏ B. DevOps

• ❏ C. Agile

• ❏ D. Waterfall model

Under the Risk Management Framework which role gives oversight and advice to system owners while security controls are being chosen and put into place?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Engineer

• ❏ B. Authorizing Official

• ❏ C. Security Control Assessor

• ❏ D. Information Security Officer

A national standards board has issued updated compliance rules that affect your company in the financial technology sector. Your compliance team must ensure that all business operations conform to the new rules to avoid regulatory fines. What is the best approach for the compliance team to take?

• ❏ A. Contract an outside compliance consultancy to perform and manage the compliance work

• ❏ B. Begin an immediate wholesale rewrite of all governance policies and procedures

• ❏ C. Perform a comprehensive gap analysis to identify nonconformities and build a prioritized remediation plan

• ❏ D. Deploy automated cloud based monitoring and continuous auditing to detect and address compliance issues iteratively

Brightwell Systems a municipal agency that follows NIST guidance for continuous monitoring has detected a configuration change in one of its information systems that may affect the system security controls. What action should Brightwell take next?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Conduct a security impact assessment to evaluate effects on controls

• ❏ C. Update the system security plan without further analysis

• ❏ D. Trigger the incident response process and isolate the system

BlueRiver Financial Services discovered a severe flaw in a core payments application that could allow attackers to access confidential customer transaction records and the flaw cannot be patched immediately because it depends on updates to several integrated systems What short term risk response should BlueRiver implement to reduce exposure while a permanent remediation is developed?

• ❏ A. Purchase cyber insurance to transfer potential financial losses

• ❏ B. Apply temporary compensating controls such as intensified logging and tighter access controls

• ❏ C. Deploy Google Cloud Armor to filter and block malicious incoming traffic

• ❏ D. Accept the vulnerability and continue operations while actively monitoring for misuse

ClearPath Labs is planning a new smartphone application that will hold confidential client records. The engineering team needs to uncover and assess data security threats before any development work begins. What approach should the engineers use to identify potential data security threats for the mobile app?

• ❏ A. Run automated vulnerability scans with Cloud Security Scanner

• ❏ B. Carry out market research to learn user security preferences

• ❏ C. Perform a threat modeling exercise focused on mobile applications

• ❏ D. Prioritize rapid delivery and remediate security issues after launch

Nova Systems maintains a continuous monitoring program and it recently detected a vulnerability in one of its information systems that could allow unauthorized access. As part of its monitoring process what action should Nova Systems take next?

• ❏ A. Notify the system owner and wait for their instructions

• ❏ B. Apply an emergency patch immediately without analyzing potential impacts

• ❏ C. Open a security finding in Cloud Security Command Center and begin triage

• ❏ D. Evaluate the vulnerability, prioritize remediation by risk, and update the POA&M to track remediation

What is the primary objective of enterprise architecture for a company seeking to align its technology and processes with long term goals?

• ❏ A. Determine the system hardware and software specifications

• ❏ B. Design cloud infrastructure topology and deployment details

• ❏ C. Create a holistic map of the enterprise information technology landscape

• ❏ D. Evaluate whether security controls meet organizational requirements

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

As part of its ongoing monitoring program, Nova Systems plans to reevaluate the effectiveness of selected security controls. Which factor should influence how often these reevaluations occur?

• ❏ A. The sensitivity and classification of the data the information system handles

• ❏ B. All of the above factors combined

• ❏ C. The availability of staff and tools to perform reassessments

• ❏ D. The organization’s risk appetite and tolerance

Vector Systems discovered a security vulnerability in a new cloud application and must add controls to lower the risk. What is the most appropriate way to select and implement the additional security controls?

• ❏ A. Use established control frameworks such as NIST SP 80053 and CIS Benchmarks

• ❏ B. Survey other firms in the sector to learn which controls they have adopted

• ❏ C. Engage security subject matter experts to identify the most effective controls for the specific vulnerability

• ❏ D. Choose the most expensive controls to ensure the highest level of protection

What is a primary advantage of establishing an information security management system?

• ❏ A. Higher customer satisfaction

• ❏ B. Lowered costs from security incidents

• ❏ C. Expanded market presence

• ❏ D. Improved employee engagement

What should the site reliability team do when a monitoring agent for a decommissioned application continues to collect data from an active service?

• ❏ A. Export and archive the collected logs to Cloud Storage before investigation

• ❏ B. Leave the agent running without making changes

• ❏ C. Stop and uninstall the monitoring tool from all hosts

• ❏ D. Reconfigure the monitoring agent to collect only from the active service

A regional insurer named Meridian Assurance is preparing to perform a security control evaluation for a newly deployed cloud application. What is the main objective of that evaluation?

• ❏ A. Estimate the residual risk to the system after controls are implemented

• ❏ B. Assess compliance with relevant laws regulatory frameworks and contractual security obligations

• ❏ C. Confirm that deployed security controls function as intended and satisfy the organization’s security requirements

• ❏ D. Detect vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the application environment

Within an enterprise risk framework, which description best matches the practice of transferring exposure to an external party?

• ❏ A. Implementing safeguards to reduce the probability or severity of the exposure

• ❏ B. Engaging a third party to assume the exposure through insurance or contractual terms

• ❏ C. Acknowledging the exposure and maintaining a contingency plan

• ❏ D. Eliminating the activity that produces the exposure so that the risk no longer exists

Under the NIST Cybersecurity Framework version 2.0 which core function concentrates on designing and applying safeguards so that essential infrastructure services remain available?

• ❏ A. Detect

• ❏ B. Respond

• ❏ C. Protect

• ❏ D. Identify

What practical measure should a technology firm take to strengthen ethical conduct among its staff?

• ❏ A. Mandate only written codes of conduct

• ❏ B. Enable Cloud Audit Logs for monitoring

• ❏ C. Deliver recurring ethics workshops and acknowledge exemplary ethical choices

• ❏ D. Discourage internal reporting of concerns

Which of the following does not represent an advantage of using dashboards and metrics for ongoing monitoring?

• ❏ A. Early detection of security incidents

• ❏ B. Enhanced situational awareness for stakeholders

• ❏ C. Reduced reliance on security controls

• ❏ D. Security Command Center integration

Which organizational role directs and oversees the enterprise risk management program and makes sure it stays aligned with company policies and objectives?

• ❏ A. Chief Risk Officer

• ❏ B. System Authorizer

• ❏ C. Enterprise Risk Executive

• ❏ D. System Risk Owner

A regional bank is consolidating two applications that have different data protection classifications and control requirements. What factor should determine which security controls are chosen for the combined application?

• ❏ A. Adopt the least restrictive controls from both systems

• ❏ B. Use Google Cloud IAM

• ❏ C. Apply the stricter security requirements from either system to the integrated system

• ❏ D. Merge controls proportionally based on user traffic patterns

The correct answer is Extreme.

NIST FIPS 199 and associated guidance define security impact levels for confidentiality integrity and availability as Low and Moderate and High. There is no NIST impact level called Extreme so that option is not recognized under NIST standards.

Critical is incorrect because NIST does not use the term Critical as an impact level in FIPS 199. The highest NIST impact level is High rather than Critical.

Low is incorrect because it is one of the standard NIST impact levels and therefore not the odd one out in this list.

Moderate is incorrect because it is also a standard NIST impact level and therefore not the odd one out.

Memorize the three official NIST impact levels as Low, Moderate, and High so you can spot any nonstandard label such as Extreme.

The correct option is Incorrect classification of systems may lead to audit findings and financial penalties.

Regulators and auditors rely on accurate system classification because classification determines which controls and protections must be applied and which legal or regulatory obligations are applicable. When systems are classified incorrectly organizations may apply insufficient controls and auditors can record findings or impose financial penalties.

Cloud Asset Inventory is incorrect because it names a record or tool and does not by itself state how external regulators treat classification. The question asks which statement reflects regulator treatment of classification and this option does not address that.

Compliance frameworks never refer to system classification is incorrect because many frameworks and regulatory regimes require or expect system categorization to map sensitivity and controls to systems. Frameworks and standards use classification to determine handling requirements and control baselines.

System classification is only relevant for internal risk assessments and not for external audits is incorrect because external auditors and regulators use classification as part of their review to ensure controls match the sensitivity and regulatory requirements of systems and misclassification can cause audit findings and penalties.

When answering these questions focus on whether the statement links classification to external verification or consequences. Words about audit findings, penalties, or regulator review are usually strong indicators of a correct choice.

A process to report security and privacy posture to executives established is the correct option.

This item is typically an ongoing reporting and governance activity that occurs after controls are implemented and assessments are performed. The reporting process is part of continuous monitoring and stakeholder communication rather than the preparatory work that defines strategy and control mappings.

An organization wide strategy for continuous monitoring developed and implemented is incorrect because establishing a continuous monitoring strategy is a core outcome of the Prepare stage. The Prepare stage sets organization level approaches to monitoring so that effectiveness can be measured and sustained.

Common controls identified and mapped to business activities is incorrect because identifying and mapping common controls to business activities is a foundational Prepare activity. The mapping supports consistent control application and later assessment and monitoring.

An enterprise risk management strategy established and overall risk tolerance determined is incorrect because setting enterprise risk management approaches and defining risk tolerance are central Prepare tasks. Those elements guide control selection and prioritization across the program.

When a question asks what is not produced during a stage look for outputs that are operational and recurring. Those items are more likely part of monitoring and reporting rather than the initial Prepare artifacts.

The correct option is System Administrator.

A System Administrator is responsible for installing configuring and maintaining servers and operating systems and for managing host level settings. They keep inventories and configuration records and they coordinate patching and vulnerability remediation so they can provide detailed technical information about server configurations network settings and known vulnerabilities during a cybersecurity review.

Legal Counsel focuses on legal risk compliance contracts and policy advice and they do not typically handle low level technical server configurations or maintain vulnerability inventories so they are not the right source for detailed technical data.

Cloud Network Engineer specialises in cloud networking design connectivity and routing and they may provide network specific details. They usually do not own host configuration management or the full application vulnerability inventory so they are not the typical provider of comprehensive server vulnerability information.

Site Reliability Engineer concentrates on service reliability automation and operational tooling and they may supply runbook and operational metrics. They often work with the system administration function but they are not always the owner of server configuration records or vulnerability tracking so they are not the default answer.

Operational ownership is the clue to pick the right role. Choose the person who manages devices patches and inventories rather than legal advisors or roles focused only on networking or reliability.

Collaborate with IT plant automation engineers and external vendors to tailor and validate control baselines so they are relevant effective and account for interdependencies is the correct option.

This choice recognizes that in a mixed environment there are different technologies stakeholders and operational constraints that affect how controls are implemented. Tailoring and validating baselines with IT staff plant automation engineers and external vendors ensures controls are applicable to industrial control systems cloud services and on premises systems and it clarifies responsibilities and interfaces so controls work together rather than conflicting.

Working with subject matter experts allows the project team to identify inherited controls shared responsibilities and safety or availability constraints that are common in aerospace and industrial settings. It also enables testing and validation of control implementations and the documentation of compensating controls and deployment sequencing in the system security plan.

Automate control enforcement across cloud and on premises environments using infrastructure as code and centralized templates is not the most critical action because automation is valuable but it cannot replace stakeholder engagement and tailoring. Many ICS and vendor managed services have constraints that prevent full automation and some controls require procedural or physical measures that cannot be enforced purely by templates.

Apply every control from NIST SP 800-53 without exception to achieve the broadest coverage is incorrect because RMF requires tailoring and scoping based on risk and system characteristics. Applying every control blindly wastes resources and can introduce conflicts with operational or safety requirements especially in industrial environments.

Concentrate primary efforts on securing the local data centers because they are perceived as the highest risk in a hybrid deployment is incorrect because focusing on one component ignores interdependencies and the risk introduced by cloud services plant automation and external vendors. Effective implementation requires a balanced and risk based approach across the entire hybrid environment.

During the Controls Implementation phase focus on collaboration with system owners and vendors and on tailoring control baselines to the operational environment. Validate implementations with tests and document any compensating controls and responsibility mappings.

Stopping the task that produces the exposure is correct because it eliminates the activity that creates the risk and therefore removes the exposure rather than managing it.

This is classic risk avoidance. By discontinuing the task there is no asset or process left exposed and no need to rely on controls, insurance, or acceptance. Organizations choose avoidance when the risk is unacceptable or when other treatments are impractical.

Implementing controls to reduce the likelihood or impact of the risk is incorrect because that describes risk mitigation. Mitigation reduces the chance or impact of an event but it does not remove the activity that causes the exposure.

Shifting responsibility to a third party vendor is incorrect because that is risk transfer. Transfer moves responsibility or financial burden but the underlying exposure typically remains and residual risk can persist.

Choosing to accept the potential outcome without taking measures is incorrect because that is risk acceptance. Acceptance acknowledges the risk and tolerates its consequences without implementing controls or stopping the activity.

When a question describes eliminating an activity or exposure pick avoidance. If it mentions controls pick mitigation. If it involves insurers or contracts pick transfer. If it says accept the consequences pick acceptance.

The correct option is Tailor the security controls to the system’s particular requirements and risk profile.

Tailor the security controls to the system’s particular requirements and risk profile is correct because NIST SP 800-53 provides baseline control families and explicitly expects organizations to select and modify those baselines based on the system impact level and the organization risk assessment. Tailoring allows you to apply scoping statements overlays and compensating controls so that controls are appropriate and effective for the specific system and threat landscape.

When you Tailor the security controls to the system’s particular requirements and risk profile you start with a baseline then document any additions deletions or adjustments and provide justification. This approach keeps controls cost effective and aligned with risk while ensuring required protection objectives are met.

Implement all controls at the greatest level of stringency possible is incorrect because applying every control at maximum stringency is rarely practical and it ignores risk and operational impact. That approach can create unnecessary burden and may reduce overall security by introducing complexity and implementation gaps.

Deploy only the least set of controls deemed necessary is incorrect because selecting the bare minimum of controls without a structured baseline and tailoring process risks underprotection. NIST recommends using baselines and a documented risk assessment to guide which controls are necessary and how they should be applied.

Cloud Security Command Center is incorrect because that is the name of a cloud security product and not a recommended method for applying NIST SP 800-53 controls. It is not an approach to tailoring or selecting controls under the NIST framework.

When you see NIST questions look for answers that emphasize tailoring and a risk based approach rather than absolute or minimal choices. Identify baselines then check whether the option describes adjusting controls to the system context.

To keep policies and procedures aligned with evolving threats technologies and regulatory obligations is the correct choice.

As Harbor Lane moves services to the cloud the threat landscape the supported technologies and the regulatory environment can change. Regular review and revision of security documentation ensures that policies procedures and control mappings remain effective that responsibilities are clear and that the company can demonstrate ongoing compliance with applicable rules.

To improve incident response capabilities and audit readiness is not the best answer. While updated documentation can support response and audits those outcomes are narrower benefits and do not capture the broader need to align policies with evolving threats technologies and regulations.

To reduce reliance on outside security consultants is incorrect. Revising documentation may decrease some dependence over time but organizations still need external expertise for specialized assessments and to address gaps in knowledge when new technologies are adopted.

To lower the number of internal security training sessions is incorrect. Keeping documentation current normally increases the need to train staff on new or changed controls and procedures rather than reducing training frequency.

When questions mention changing environments pick the answer that emphasizes alignment with current threats technologies and regulatory obligations. Favor options that focus on governance risk and compliance over those that promise operational shortcuts.

The correct answer is Evaluate how well implemented security controls reduce known risks and weaknesses.

A security controls audit is primarily about assessing whether controls are designed and operating effectively to mitigate the risks they are intended to address. The auditor collects evidence, tests control operation, and determines if the controls actually reduce known risks and weaknesses in line with the organisation’s risk treatment strategy. The result is an assurance opinion on control effectiveness rather than a simple checklist outcome.

Confirm that the system follows applicable laws and standards is focused on compliance. Compliance reviews and legal assessments check adherence to laws and standards and they may overlap with audits, but the primary goal of a controls audit is to test effectiveness of controls rather than to certify legal or regulatory conformity.

Find additional vulnerabilities and new threats within the system describes vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Those activities actively search for unknown weaknesses and simulate attacks. Auditors may note vulnerabilities they observe, but discovery of new threats is not the main purpose of a controls audit.

Measure the enterprise level security posture and capability maturity is about high level posture assessments and maturity models. Those assessments evaluate overall capability and strategic maturity across the enterprise. A controls audit is usually narrower and concentrates on whether specific controls work as intended to reduce risk.

When a question mentions controls audit look for an option about control effectiveness rather than one that only mentions compliance or vulnerability discovery

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

The correct answer is It ensures the assessment focuses on the organization’s business objectives and acceptable threat level.

Factoring the credit union’s risk appetite and regulatory security expectations directs the team to concentrate on what matters most to the institution and to its regulators. When the scope aligns with the assessment focuses on the organization’s business objectives and acceptable threat level the team can prioritize high impact systems, tailor control testing depth, and ensure compliance obligations are assessed appropriately.

It identifies which cloud assets such as Cloud Storage and Compute Engine must be in scope is incorrect because identifying specific assets is an outcome of an asset inventory and architectural review. Risk appetite and regulatory expectations help prioritize assets but do not by themselves enumerate specific cloud services to include.

It helps set the amount of funding allocated to cybersecurity efforts is incorrect because budgeting is a business governance decision driven by many factors. Risk appetite can influence funding priorities but scoping an assessment is primarily about focus and risk prioritization rather than setting budgets.

It determines how frequently employees must complete security awareness training is incorrect because training frequency is an operational policy or control decision. Regulatory expectations may affect training requirements but scoping the assessment is about which systems and risks to evaluate rather than specifying exact training schedules.

When a question asks about scoping look for answers that mention alignment with business objectives and acceptable levels of risk. Those phrases usually point to the correct choice.

The correct answer is To keep Authorizing Officials and Security Control Assessors current on evolving threats and guidance.

To keep Authorizing Officials and Security Control Assessors current on evolving threats and guidance is correct because authorization decisions depend on an accurate and up to date understanding of the threat landscape and governing guidance. Ongoing education helps Authorizing Officials evaluate residual risk and make informed risk acceptance decisions and it helps Security Control Assessors use current assessment techniques to identify vulnerabilities and control gaps.

Continuous training also ensures both roles remain aware of changes in standards and regulatory expectations and it supports effective continuous monitoring and timely remediation of security weaknesses.

Security Command Center is incorrect because it names a specific product or tool rather than explaining why education is important during the authorization process. Tools can support assessments but they do not replace the need for ongoing professional learning.

To allow them to hand off all accountability to external parties is incorrect because Authorizing Officials retain ultimate accountability for risk decisions. Education strengthens oversight and informed decision making rather than enabling relinquishment of responsibility.

To enable circumvention of regulatory and contractual requirements is incorrect because the purpose of ongoing education is to promote compliance and correct control implementation. Training is intended to help meet requirements and manage risk and not to bypass rules.

Look for options that describe risk reduction and continued compliance and watch for distractors that suggest handing off accountability or violating rules. Emphasize accountability, risk, and compliance when choosing the best answer.

The correct option is Outdated security controls that have not been updated to address new threats.

This option is correct because Meridian Cargo has deployed firewalls, intrusion detection devices and endpoint antivirus yet still suffered successful intrusions. That pattern most commonly indicates that the defenses were not kept current and that signatures, patches or detection rules were not updated to detect newer attack techniques. In short Outdated security controls that have not been updated to address new threats explains why the protections in place failed to stop the recent incidents.

Remediating this requires active patch management, regular updates to IDS and antivirus signatures, firewall rule review and integration of timely threat intelligence so defenses keep pace with evolving threats.

Cloud Logging is incorrect because logging by itself does not prevent intrusions and the scenario asks why the protections failed rather than how incidents are recorded. Logging can help with detection and forensics after an event but it does not make controls effective at blocking attacks.

Insufficient training for IT and security staff is incorrect because poor training can contribute to incidents but the question describes technical controls that were bypassed. The more direct explanation for bypassed controls is that those controls were not updated to handle new threats.

Missing or inaccurate network asset inventory is incorrect because an incomplete inventory can hinder response and risk management but it does not directly explain why deployed firewalls, IDS and antivirus did not prevent intrusions. The failures point to ineffective or outdated control configurations and updates.

When a scenario shows deployed security tools but repeated breaches occur focus on options that mention updates, patching or signature and rule maintenance as the likely root cause.

The correct option is Perform a comprehensive vendor security risk assessment.

A vendor security risk assessment is the right first action because it identifies which third parties pose the greatest cybersecurity and data risks to HarborLight and it informs subsequent decisions about controls and priorities. Conducting a vendor security risk assessment lets the organization map data flows, determine required protections, and decide which vendors need deeper due diligence or monitoring.

A structured vendor security risk assessment also produces evidence that helps shape contract language and tool selection so that obligations and monitoring match the actual risks discovered. Starting with assessment avoids wasting resources on blanket requirements or tools that may not address the highest risks.

Cloud Security Command Center is incorrect because it is a monitoring and security management tool and not the foundational step of identifying and prioritizing third party risks. Deploying such tooling can come later after assessment.

Include binding security requirements in supplier contracts is important but it is not the first action. Contract terms should be driven by the findings of a risk assessment so that requirements are targeted and enforceable.

Share all internal security policies with every third party is incorrect because sharing everything can expose internal details and is often unnecessary. HarborLight should share only the relevant requirements and controls that a vendor security risk assessment shows are needed for each supplier.

On third party security questions pick answers that emphasize assess, identify, or inventory first. Contracts and tools are important but they should follow a risk assessment so that controls match actual risks.

The correct answer is Heterogeneous infrastructures across public cloud, on-premise, and IoT devices.

Heterogeneous infrastructures across public cloud, on-premise, and IoT devices is the major difficulty because these environments expose widely different management interfaces, operating systems, and device capabilities. Each class of system may require different configuration formats and tooling, and that makes it hard to apply a single secure configuration baseline consistently.

The diversity in heterogeneous infrastructures across public cloud, on-premise, and IoT devices also creates testing and validation challenges. Changes that are safe in one environment can break another, and some IoT devices lack the resources to run standard configuration agents or receive frequent patches, so organizations must design multiple controls and processes to cover all systems.

Inconsistent policy enforcement across multiple cloud projects is not the best choice because that problem is largely scoped to cloud governance and can be mitigated with centralized policy tools and organization level controls. It is a real challenge but it does not capture the full scope of mixed on‑premise and IoT systems.

Google Cloud Deployment Manager is not correct because it is a specific infrastructure as code tool rather than a fundamental difficulty. It applies mainly to Google Cloud deployments and does not describe the broader problem of coordinating secure configurations across many different platforms.

Many users granted identical roles is also incorrect because that describes an identity and access management issue. It is important for security but it is distinct from the operational and technical complexity of maintaining consistent secure configurations across diverse infrastructure types.

When a question contrasts a broad operational challenge with a specific tool or a single-domain issue choose the broad option. Look for words like heterogeneous or hybrid as clues to a systemic problem.

The correct answer is The overall condition of an organization’s risk management and cyber readiness. This choice best describes an enterprise risk posture and its readiness to handle cybersecurity threats.

This description covers the maturity of governance, policies, technical controls, threat detection and monitoring, incident response, and recovery capabilities. It reflects how well risks are identified, assessed, and managed across people, process, and technology, and it indicates whether the organization can prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents.

Cloud Security Command Center is a specific cloud security tool that provides visibility and security findings for cloud resources. It can contribute data about risks but it does not by itself describe the overall condition of an organization�s risk management and cyber readiness.

The company’s tolerance for exposure to threats describes risk appetite or risk tolerance. That concept indicates how much risk the organization is willing to accept but it does not describe the actual state of controls, monitoring, and response capabilities that make up risk posture.

The firm’s strategy for addressing discovered risks refers to risk treatment and mitigation plans. Those plans are an important part of managing risk but they represent actions rather than the comprehensive state of risk management and cyber readiness.

When a question asks about posture or readiness choose the option that describes the organization�s overall condition and capabilities rather than a specific tool, the level of tolerance, or a single strategy.

The correct answer is Verifying that the security controls are achieving their risk reduction objectives.

Monitoring is primarily about assessing outcomes and ensuring that controls deliver the intended reduction in risk over time. Evidence such as test results, metrics, control performance data, and incident trends indicate whether Verifying that the security controls are achieving their risk reduction objectives is being met and guide decisions about tuning or adding controls.

Focusing on risk reduction ties monitoring to the organization s risk acceptance decisions and priorities. If controls exist but do not materially reduce risk then leaders must accept residual risk or require further mitigation.

Confirming that all planned security controls have been deployed is a necessary step after implementation but it only shows presence. Deployment alone does not prove that a control is effective or that it reduces the targeted risk.

Ensuring controls align with applicable compliance and regulatory requirements is important for legal and policy reasons. Compliance alignment does not always equate to actual risk reduction and it can miss organization specific threats or design flaws.

Making sure the controls are manageable and support automation of routine tasks improves operations and sustainability. Manageability and automation are valuable but they are secondary to assessing whether controls actually achieve their risk reduction objectives.

When you read monitoring questions look for words that emphasize effectiveness or risk reduction rather than mere presence or procedural convenience.

Security controls is the correct option.

An information security management system is a management framework that defines leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and continual improvement to manage information security risks and meet legal and contractual obligations. Security controls are the specific technical and procedural measures that an organization implements as part of that framework to treat risks and enforce requirements, but they are implementation elements rather than one of the ISMS core management components.

Compliance with applicable laws and regulations is not correct because legal and regulatory compliance is an essential requirement that an ISMS must address and it therefore forms part of the system scope and objectives.

Risk assessment is not correct because identifying and assessing information security risks is central to an ISMS and drives selection of controls and treatment plans.

Continual improvement processes is not correct because continual improvement is a core principle of management systems and it is explicitly required by ISO/IEC 27001 through the plan do check act approach and performance evaluation activities.

When answering ISMS questions think in terms of management system clauses such as leadership, planning, operation, performance evaluation, and improvement. Remember that controls are the measures applied by the ISMS and not the core management components themselves.

New security vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are introduced is correct.

Changes to an information system or to its runtime environment often introduce unforeseen differences in behavior. Software updates library changes configuration adjustments or new services can create vulnerable combinations or leave insecure defaults in place. That can lead to newly exposed attack surface privilege escalation paths or broken authentication and authorization checks which affect both security and operational stability.

Ongoing maintenance and support expenses decrease is incorrect because making modifications usually requires additional testing monitoring and potential rollback work which tends to increase or at least shift costs rather than reliably decreasing them.

Cloud Monitoring is incorrect because it names a capability rather than describing an effect of system changes. Monitoring may need updating after changes but it is not itself the impact on security and operations.

Overall system efficiency and staff productivity improve is incorrect because changes can either improve or degrade efficiency and productivity. Improvements are possible but they are not guaranteed and so this option is not the best answer for likely impacts on security and operations.

When answering think about what changes most often cause problems and focus on increased attack surface and configuration drift rather than assumed benefits.

The correct option is Project initiation phase. The Project initiation phase is where a new solution is first defined and classified at a high level before detailed requirements and design work begin.

During the Project initiation phase stakeholders establish the business need objectives scope and basic classification such as priority and sensitivity. This phase produces the project charter business case and initial risk assessment which set the direction and classification for later phases.

Requirements analysis is incorrect because this phase refines and documents detailed functional and non functional requirements after the solution concept has already been defined during initiation.

Implementation phase is incorrect because this phase focuses on building and coding the solution rather than on initially defining or classifying it.

Operations phase is incorrect because operations covers deployment monitoring and maintenance after the solution is live and does not involve the original definition or classification of the solution.

Pay attention to words like first and defined in the question. Those words usually point to the initiation or chartering stage rather than requirements analysis or implementation.

How effectively the compensating controls reduce the identified risk is the correct consideration to drive the choice of compensating controls.

Compensating controls must materially lower the likelihood or impact of the vulnerability so that the residual risk is acceptable. They should provide demonstrable and testable mitigation and they should be documented so stakeholders can verify that the identified risk has been addressed.

The effectiveness discussion includes monitoring and testing so the organization can confirm the compensating control continues to work over time and does not introduce unacceptable secondary risks.

Regulatory and compliance obligations are important and may constrain which controls are allowed, but they are not the primary driver when choosing compensating controls. The main requirement is that the control actually reduces the identified risk.

The cost to implement the compensating controls can influence what is feasible and what timeline is practical, but cost alone does not justify a control that fails to mitigate the risk.

Compatibility with the existing infrastructure and operational feasibility matter for implementation and maintenance, but they are secondary to whether the control effectively reduces the risk that was identified.

On compensating control questions choose the option that emphasizes measurable risk reduction and verifiable effectiveness rather than cost or convenience.

The correct option is Automation reduces the effort and duration of assessments by enabling continuous monitoring and near real time reporting.

Automation reduces the effort and duration of assessments by enabling continuous monitoring and near real time reporting is correct because automated controls and monitoring collect evidence continuously and provide timely alerts. Continuous collection and near real time reporting shorten assessment cycles and let assessors concentrate on exceptions and remediation rather than on repetitive data gathering.

Google Cloud Security Command Center is a specific product and not a description of the benefit in the question. A named tool can support automation but it is not the general advantage of automation in reducing effort and duration.

Automation guarantees flawless implementation of all security controls is incorrect because automation cannot promise perfection. Automated checks can have blind spots and require configuration and validation so human review remains necessary to catch gaps and context specific issues.

Automation removes the need for any human assessment tasks is incorrect because automation reduces repetitive tasks but it does not replace human judgement. Humans are still needed for interpreting results, making risk decisions, and performing complex assessments.

When you see answers about automation choose the one that describes an ongoing, measurable improvement such as continuous monitoring or near real time reporting rather than absolute guarantees or total removal of human tasks.

The correct answer is Provides immediate identification and remediation of emerging threats.

Provides immediate identification and remediation of emerging threats is the primary advantage because continuous risk monitoring delivers near real time visibility into anomalous activity and changing threat conditions. Continuous monitoring allows security teams to detect indicators of compromise quickly and to trigger automated or orchestrated response actions so that remediation can begin before issues escalate.

Streamlines consolidation of risk metrics and reporting can be a benefit of continuous monitoring because automated tools collect and centralize data. However this is a secondary outcome and it does not capture the main purpose which is rapid detection and response.

Enhances audit trails using Cloud Audit Logs describes a specific capability that may improve for cloud environments when logging is enabled. It is not the primary advantage of continuous risk monitoring and it is limited to log retention and auditability rather than immediate threat identification and remediation.

Reduces reliance on periodic formal risk reviews is partly true because continuous monitoring complements periodic reviews and provides up to date risk information. It is not the primary advantage because formal risk assessments still play a role in governance and strategy while monitoring focuses on real time detection and operational response.

When a question mentions continuous monitoring look for answers that emphasize real time detection or rapid remediation rather than reporting cycles or audit logging.

The correct option is Deploy strong access controls, audit logs, controlled physical access and administrative procedures.

This choice matches the HIPAA Security Rule because it covers the three required safeguard categories. Strong access controls and audit logs are technical safeguards that enforce least privilege and provide monitoring for unauthorized access. Controlled physical access protects servers, backup media, and paper records at the clinic sites. Administrative procedures such as policies, workforce training, risk assessments, and business associate agreements establish governance and incident response.

Limit controls to email encryption only is incorrect because email encryption addresses only one technical control and does not satisfy the administrative and physical safeguard requirements that HIPAA demands.

Implement only technical protections such as firewalls and endpoint security is incorrect because technical measures alone are not sufficient. HIPAA also requires documented administrative actions and physical safeguards to manage risk and protect patient records.

Rely exclusively on Cloud IAM and logging without physical safeguards is incorrect because cloud identity controls and logs help but they do not replace the need for physical protections and organizational policies. Covered entities remain responsible for physical security and proper business associate agreements with cloud providers.

When answering HIPAA security questions look for choices that include administrative, physical, and technical safeguards together because the rule requires all three areas to be addressed.

They enable customers to verify that the supplier is operating the agreed upon security controls is the correct option.

Contractual audit provisions give the customer explicit rights to obtain evidence and to validate that the supplier has implemented and is maintaining the security controls that were agreed in the contract and the statement of work. These rights typically cover review of supporting documentation and reports and they may allow on site assessments or access to third party assurance reports so the customer can confirm the supplier is meeting its obligations and managing risk.

They grant customers ownership of the supplier’s hosted data is incorrect because audit rights do not transfer legal ownership of data. Ownership and data residency must be negotiated separately and they require explicit contractual language that goes beyond simply allowing audits.

They remove the need for customers to use platform auditing services such as Cloud Audit Logs is incorrect because contractual audit rights and platform or cloud audit logs serve complementary purposes. Audit provisions allow verification and access to evidence while platform logs provide the technical telemetry that auditors and customers use to demonstrate and trace control operation.

They allow customers to withhold payment for services that do not meet their expectations is incorrect because audit rights establish verification and remediation paths and they may enable contractual remedies. Withholding payment is a separate contract remedy and it must be explicitly written into the agreement if it is to be permitted.

When you see language about verifying, accessing evidence, or performing assessments think of contractual audit rights as a way to confirm controls rather than as a mechanism that transfers data or replaces technical logging.

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Conduct a targeted risk assessment and implement strengthened security controls for the vendor services is the correct option.

The appropriate immediate step is to perform a focused risk assessment and to harden the vendor relationship while facts are gathered. A targeted risk assessment and strengthened security controls lets the organization determine the scope of exposure by reviewing logs and configurations and by validating whether any data access actually occurred. This approach enables containment actions that preserve evidence and maintain business continuity while the vendor and the organization remediate gaps and add compensating controls such as enhanced monitoring, encryption, access revocation, and network segmentation.

Notify regulators and affected customers immediately is not the best immediate move because notification obligations are normally triggered by confirmed or legally defined data breaches. Premature public disclosure can cause unnecessary panic and may impede forensic work. The organization should gather evidence and consult legal and compliance teams to determine whether notification thresholds have been met.

Terminate the provider contract without delay is also inappropriate as an immediate action. Abrupt termination can interrupt critical services, hinder forensic investigations, and destroy logs or other evidence. Contract termination may be necessary later depending on findings, but it should follow a considered risk and business impact assessment and a migration plan.

Pause all data synchronizations to the vendor pending investigation is usually too blunt and may disrupt operations and complicate analysis. A targeted control posture is preferable. For example pause nonessential synchronizations or restrict sensitive data flows while maintaining access to logs and systems needed for investigation and remediation.

When a vendor reports a suspected incident prioritize a quick, targeted risk assessment and containment actions that preserve evidence and business continuity before escalating to broad notifications or drastic contract moves.

The correct answer is It is a strategic chance to capture lessons learned and fuel continuous improvement.

It is a strategic chance to capture lessons learned and fuel continuous improvement is correct because decommissioning an IT system is an opportunity to record operational and security lessons, to update policies and procedures, and to feed those insights back into planning and governance. Treating the activity strategically converts a disposal event into an input for better design, supplier selection, change control, and risk reduction across future projects.

It is chiefly about terminating supplier agreements and legal closure is incorrect because contractual and legal closeout are only part of the decommissioning work and they do not capture the broader learning and improvement aspects. Contracts are a component and not the primary organizational strategy.

It is a routine administrative task with no strategic value is incorrect because decommissioning generates actionable information about operations, security controls, and lifecycle costs. Dismissing it as merely administrative misses the chance to reduce future risk and improve practices.

It is mainly a compliance and archival operation with emphasis on records retention is incorrect because compliance and archival retention are important but they represent only one dimension of the process. Emphasizing records alone overlooks the strategic benefits of lessons learned and continuous improvement.

When you see choices about end of life or decommissioning prefer answers that mention lessons learned or continuous improvement rather than only administrative or legal closure.

The correct option is Rank suggested security controls by risk impact and available budget and staff.

Rank suggested security controls by risk impact and available budget and staff is correct because remediation should follow a risk based approach and account for organizational constraints. Prioritizing by impact and by available resources ensures that the most serious issues are addressed first and that the chosen controls are feasible to implement and maintain.

Cloud Security Command Center is not the correct choice because it is a tool rather than an assessment decision. The product can help identify and aggregate findings but naming a specific service does not replace the need to prioritize controls by risk and resources.

Apply every recommended security control regardless of cost or feasibility is incorrect because applying every recommendation without considering cost or feasibility is impractical and can waste resources. Effective remediation requires weighing risk reduction against budget and staffing and sometimes applying compensating controls or phased implementations.

Set aside discovered vulnerabilities labeled as low risk without further tracking is incorrect because low risk issues still need documentation and periodic review. Risk levels can change over time and tracking ensures that low risk items are monitored and reassessed as part of the ongoing security program.

Prioritize findings by potential impact and by exploitability and then align fixes with available budget and staff to create a realistic remediation plan.

Work with all stakeholders to customize and approve control baselines so they fit the environment and account for interdependencies is correct.

Work with all stakeholders to customize and approve control baselines so they fit the environment and account for interdependencies is the right choice because implementation in a hybrid environment requires tailoring and agreement across teams. Engaging IT operations, operational technology engineers, and third party vendors early ensures the baseline reflects cloud services, on site systems, and industrial control systems. Tailoring baselines reduces unnecessary burden and captures control interdependencies so the controls are practical and enforceable.

Work with all stakeholders to customize and approve control baselines so they fit the environment and account for interdependencies also supports traceability and authorization evidence. When stakeholders approve the baseline they accept responsibilities and the authorization lead can document how controls map to risks and system boundaries. That alignment is essential for a successful Controls Implementation phase in the NIST Risk Management Framework.

Deploy automated configuration and continuous compliance pipelines using infrastructure as code and policy enforcement is useful but not the most critical first action. Automation helps maintain consistent configurations but it can only enforce the right controls after the baselines are defined and agreed. Without stakeholder buy in an automated pipeline may harden the wrong settings or miss industrial control system constraints.

Apply every control in NIST SP 800 53 without assessing applicability to the organization is incorrect because NIST defines tailoring and scoping to produce a risk based baseline. Applying every control is impractical and it creates unnecessary work and potential conflicts with operational requirements. The RMF expects informed selection and tailoring of controls.

Prioritize implementing controls only for on site infrastructure because it is perceived as the highest risk is incorrect because a hybrid enterprise and industrial control systems have cross cutting risks. Focusing solely on on site systems ignores cloud services and vendor managed components and it misses interdependencies that can undermine security across the environment.

On RMF questions pick the answer that emphasizes risk based tailoring and stakeholder alignment rather than blanket application or single technology solutions.

Attain compliance with the newly introduced privacy regulation within 90 days is the correct choice.

Attain compliance with the newly introduced privacy regulation within 90 days is a well defined objective because it specifies the desired outcome, establishes a clear measure of success in terms of compliance, and sets a concrete deadline of 90 days. This combination of specific outcome measurable criteria and a time bound target allows progress to be tracked and results to be evaluated.

Enhance overall security posture is incorrect because it is too vague and it does not define what success looks like or how to measure improvement. Without measurable indicators or a timeframe it cannot serve as a well defined objective.

VPC Service Controls is incorrect because it names a specific technical control or product rather than stating an objective. A tool or control can be part of an implementation plan but it is not an objective on its own.

Recruit additional IT personnel is incorrect because it describes an action or tactic and it lacks measurable targets and a time frame. Hiring can support objectives but it does not by itself define a clear security or privacy outcome to be achieved.

On objective questions look for statements that are specific, measurable, and time bound because those are the characteristics of a well defined objective.

The correct answer is Ongoing control monitoring and scheduled reviews.

This approach ensures that controls are validated continuously and that their performance is compared to shifting threats and changing systems. Ongoing monitoring catches configuration drift and new vulnerabilities and it shows when controls stop working as intended so that remediation can be applied promptly. Scheduled reviews provide a formal cadence to reassess control effectiveness, update baselines, and align controls with policy and business changes.

Performing continuous vulnerability scanning and automated alerting is useful as part of a monitoring program but it focuses on detection and notification rather than the governance and periodic reassessment needed to maintain long term control effectiveness.

Updating security policies once every year is insufficient because the threat landscape and system configurations can change more frequently than annually and the controls that enforce policy need more regular validation and adjustment.

Conducting a single compliance audit immediately after deployment gives only a point in time snapshot. A one time audit will not reveal later drift, newly introduced risks, or control failures that occur during ongoing operation.

When a question asks about long term effectiveness choose options that mention ongoing or continuous activities rather than one time tasks.

The correct answer is Keeping documents current and auditable while preserving prior revisions.

Version control creates a recorded history of changes so auditors and teams can see who made each change and when. It lets teams update governance and policy files while preserving earlier revisions for comparison and for rollback when needed. This combination of current documents and an auditable revision history is the primary reason organizations apply version control to governance documents.

Cloud Storage lifecycle rules govern retention and automatic deletion of stored objects and they do not by themselves provide a human readable edit history or an audit trail of document edits. Lifecycle rules can work with versioning but they are not the core purpose of version control.

Allowing all staff to edit the live copy without recording revisions is the opposite of version control because it removes accountability and prevents restoring prior states. Version control requires recording revisions rather than discarding them.

Restricting document access solely to senior executives is an access control decision and not the primary function of version control. Access restrictions limit who can view or change files but they do not create the sequential, auditable history that version control provides.

When you see governance and audit questions look for choices that mention auditability or revision history because those phrases point to the purpose of version control.

The correct answer is Collaborate with IT ICS engineers and external vendors to adapt control baselines to Keystone Robotics’ specific environment ensuring controls are relevant effective and account for interdependencies.

This choice is correct because implementing security controls in a hybrid environment requires coordination across all stakeholders. Working with IT staff, industrial control system engineers, and third party vendors lets the authorization lead tailor control baselines so they match operational realities, safety constraints, and vendor responsibilities. Tailoring and scoping controls reduces conflicts with ICS safety requirements and cloud operational models while preserving security objectives and enabling proper evidence collection for the authorization package.

Adapting baselines also supports control inheritance and overlays so common controls can be reused where appropriate and compensating controls can be applied when direct implementation is not feasible. Collaboration facilitates testing and validation across interdependent systems and it enables a consistent continuous monitoring strategy that covers on premises infrastructure cloud services and ICS components.

Use Google Cloud Security Command Center to automate detection and enforcement of controls across cloud assets is incorrect because a vendor specific cloud security product only covers that cloud platform and detection tools do not replace the need to tailor and implement controls across on premises and ICS environments. Relying solely on a single cloud tool leaves gaps in non cloud systems and in multi vendor setups.

Apply every control in NIST SP 800-53 to the environment regardless of relevance is incorrect because NIST guidance expects organizations to tailor control baselines based on system impact scoping and risk. Implementing every control indiscriminately is impractical and it can create operational friction that undermines security and safety in ICS and cloud contexts.

Concentrate implementation efforts only on the on-premises infrastructure because it is perceived as the most at risk is incorrect because a hybrid environment has interdependencies and ignoring cloud services or ICS components leaves attack paths open. Risk based prioritization must cover all assets not just those that seem most at risk.

When RMF questions describe mixed IT and ICS systems look for answers that emphasize collaboration, tailoring, and risk based prioritization rather than a single tool or blanket application of controls.

The correct answer is Ensuring the system is operated and maintained in compliance with security requirements.

A system owner is accountable for the security posture of a specific information system across its lifecycle. They must ensure security controls are implemented and maintained and that operational procedures preserve compliance with applicable requirements. This responsibility also includes coordinating with system administrators, information system security officers, and enterprise security teams to manage patches, configurations, monitoring, and risk acceptance.

Running penetration tests and vulnerability scans is typically a technical activity performed by security engineers or external assessors. The system owner may request or approve testing but they do not usually perform the hands on scans themselves.

Granting project IAM roles and keeping audit logs are operational tasks usually handled by IAM administrators and logging systems. The system owner defines access requirements and reviews audit evidence for compliance but they seldom perform routine role assignments or direct log collection.

Developing enterprise wide risk management policies is a governance responsibility for the chief information security officer or the enterprise risk management office. System owners implement and follow those policies for their systems and they may provide input, but they are not typically the authors of enterprise level policy.

When a question asks about a system owner think about who is accountable for a single system across its lifecycle and not who performs hands on operational tasks. Focus on operations and compliance responsibilities.

The correct answer is The cost to implement the mitigation is greater than the asset value and expected loss.

The cost to implement the mitigation is greater than the asset value and expected loss is correct because risk acceptance is a valid decision when the expense of a control exceeds the expected benefit. Organizations commonly calculate expected loss as probability times impact and then compare that to the implementation and operational cost of a control. If the mitigation cost is higher than the asset value and the calculated expected loss then accepting the residual risk is the most plausible and rational business decision.

The cost to implement the mitigation is greater than the asset value and expected loss also fits the scenario of a large maritime logistics firm because these organizations balance availability and continuity needs against practical budgets and operational priorities. The assessor reported a weakness but not every reported weakness requires mitigation if the cost to fix it would be disproportionate to the benefit.

The probability of a denial of service incident is unknown is not the best reason because an unknown probability alone does not justify forgoing mitigation. Decision makers use expected loss estimates that incorporate uncertainty and they can apply conservative probabilities or sensitivity analysis rather than simply not acting.

Existing protections reduce the threat to an acceptable level is plausible but was marked incorrect because the question asks for the most plausible reason. If existing protections already made the risk acceptable then the assessor would likely note that. The stem instead points to a classic cost versus value trade off which makes the cost explanation stronger.

Implementing the recommended control is too complex to execute is not the primary reason in this case because complexity by itself does not explain why further defenses were not added. Complexity usually maps back to cost, timeline, or feasibility, and the cleaner explanation is that the cost and expected loss trade off made mitigation unjustifiable.

When answering these questions think in terms of risk versus reward and look for wording about cost or expected loss. Exam answers that refer to a formal cost benefit or risk acceptance rationale are often the most plausible.

It merges formal methodologies with flexible context aware judgment is correct because reconciling security requirements with operational goals requires both structured processes and judgment that adapts to the specific context.

Formal methodologies supply measurable controls, risk assessment techniques, and repeatable procedures that cover the scientific side of security. Practical, context aware judgment is the artistic side that helps prioritize controls, balance usability and cost, and tailor solutions to operational realities.

VPC Service Controls is incorrect because it is a specific cloud security product and it does not describe the conceptual interplay between methodology and judgment needed to reconcile security and operations.

It removes the requirement for measurable data and metrics is incorrect because measurement and metrics are fundamental to the scientific part of security. Removing measurable data would prevent objective risk assessment and validation of controls.

It relies only on subjective intuition is incorrect because while intuition and experience contribute to decision making they must be combined with formal analysis and evidence to produce consistent and defensible results.

Choose answers that combine structured methods and contextual judgment rather than absolutes that discard measurement or depend only on intuition.

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Penetration testing engagement is the correct option for the greatest level of effort.

A penetration testing engagement requires skilled human testers to perform deep reconnaissance manual exploitation and chaining of vulnerabilities across systems and business logic. It requires custom attack planning repeated validation and detailed reporting so it typically demands far more time coordination and expertise when a platform spans many interdependent services.

Automated vulnerability scanning uses tools to find known weaknesses and configuration issues and it is useful for broad baseline coverage. It runs faster and at scale and it cannot replicate the creative manual work needed to exploit complex interactions so it does not require the greatest effort.

Social engineering exercises can be resource intensive and require careful planning and ethical controls but they target human behavior rather than chaining technical exploits across many services. They are often narrower in technical scope than a full penetration testing engagement.

Cloud Security Command Center assessment is a cloud vendor product that automates discovery and risk identification for cloud resources and it supports continuous monitoring. It is helpful for cloud posture management but it is vendor specific and far less labor intensive than a comprehensive manual penetration test.

When you must choose which testing approach requires the most effort pick the option that describes manual, creative, and context aware work across the whole system rather than automated tools or single focus exercises.

The correct answer is Whether the processing is likely to create a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms. This threshold is what determines when a data protection impact assessment is mandated under the GDPR.

Under Article 35 of the GDPR a DPIA is required where processing is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. Supervisory authorities and guidance from the European Data Protection Board focus on factors such as the nature scope context and purpose of processing and whether it involves systematic monitoring special category data or large scale profiling when judging likelihood and severity of risk.

The total number of personal records that will be handled is not by itself the main determinant. Volume can increase impact but the law looks at the likelihood and severity of harm to individuals rather than a single numeric threshold.

Whether personal data will be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area is important for lawful transfers and adequacy requirements. Transfers can raise risks but they only trigger a DPIA when they contribute to a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms.

The size and staffing levels of the organisation operating the processing are not the trigger for a DPIA. Organizational scale may affect mitigation capacity but the requirement depends on the risks posed by the processing activity itself.

Look for questions about the likelihood and severity of harm to individuals rather than counts or company size. Think about the processing purpose nature scope and context to decide if a DPIA is required.

Relying on a one size fits all checklist is the correct answer.

ISO/IEC 27001 requires a risk based and context driven approach when selecting and applying information security controls. The standard expects organizations to identify their context, assess risks, and choose or adapt controls accordingly rather than applying the same checklist to every situation.

The standard references Annex A as a catalog of controls and it expects organizations to justify which controls are applicable through their risk assessment and treatment process. Using a blanket checklist does not demonstrate that controls are appropriate for the organization or that risks have been assessed and treated.

Supporting security across the entire system lifecycle is not wrong because ISO/IEC 27001 encourages integration of information security into processes and across the system lifecycle and it supports secure development and maintenance practices.

Cloud Identity is not wrong because identity and access management are legitimate control areas within ISO/IEC 27001 and the standard can be applied to cloud services and cloud identity solutions when they are relevant to the organization.

Protecting organizational and stakeholder confidence is not wrong because preserving confidentiality, integrity, and availability and maintaining stakeholder trust are central objectives of ISO/IEC 27001 and its risk based approach.

When a question asks which approach is not advocated look for answers that contradict core ISO 27001 principles such as being risk based and context driven. Eliminate options that align with those principles.

The correct answer is All of these reasons.

Continuous observation of the threat environment gives the security operations team the context they need to make informed decisions and to update defenses as adversaries change tactics. This activity supports To guide risk management and prioritize security controls, it supports To discover new and evolving attack techniques, and it supports To ensure systems are not exposed to known exploits. Together these benefits explain why All of these reasons is the right choice.

To guide risk management and prioritize security controls is a valid motivation because monitoring reveals which assets and vulnerabilities present the highest current risk and where defensive resources should be applied. It is not wrong but it is only one piece of the overall need to monitor threats.

To discover new and evolving attack techniques is also important because detection and threat hunting rely on knowing how attackers operate. This reason alone does not capture the full operational need to prioritize and remediate risks though.

To ensure systems are not exposed to known exploits describes the remediation and hardening side of monitoring. It is essential practice but it is only a single outcome of continuous observation rather than the complete justification.

When an option says All of these reasons check that each listed reason is plausible by itself. If each item is valid then the combined option is usually correct.

Maintain a centralized, continuously updated compliance records repository is the correct practice that most reliably ensures Meridian Shops remains prepared for compliance inspections.

The centralized, continuously updated repository creates a single source of truth for policies procedures control evidence and audit artifacts. It makes items quickly retrievable and it supports versioning retention metadata and access controls so auditors can validate controls without delay.

When the repository is continuously updated it captures evidence such as signed attestations configuration snapshots monitoring outputs and change logs. Integrating the repository with automated exports role based access and immutable storage strengthens the reliability and provenance of evidence during inspections.

Provide staff education programs on compliance obligations and audit procedures is helpful for awareness and reducing human error but training alone does not produce or organize the documentary evidence auditors expect to see.

Automate evidence collection using Cloud Asset Inventory and Cloud Audit Logs can supply useful artifacts but these tools are components of an evidence pipeline rather than a complete answer. They require aggregation indexing retention policies and contextual documentation in a central repository and they may not cover offline or third party evidence without additional processes.

Hold regular internal reviews to detect and remediate compliance gaps helps find and fix issues proactively but reviews must generate and store documented evidence to satisfy inspectors. Without a maintained central records repository the output of reviews can be fragmented or hard to present.

Pick the answer that ensures verifiable and searchable evidence is available to auditors at any time. Training and reviews support readiness but the repository is where proof is preserved and presented.

Decommissioning a service that handles confidential customer records is the correct option because it removes the asset and activity that create the risk and therefore represents risk avoidance.

Risk avoidance means not engaging in the activity that generates the threat or exposure. By taking the service out of operation and eliminating the processing of those confidential records the firm removes the possibility of breaches tied to that service rather than accepting or reducing the exposure.

Outsourcing a high risk function to an external vendor is incorrect because outsourcing typically transfers or shares risk with a third party instead of eliminating the risk. The firm remains exposed through vendor relationships and must manage third party risk.

Buying a cybersecurity insurance policy to cover potential breach losses is incorrect because insurance is a form of risk transfer and financial protection. It does not remove the underlying vulnerability or prevent incidents from occurring.

Implementing layered security controls and continuous monitoring to reduce vulnerabilities is incorrect because those actions are risk mitigation. They reduce the likelihood or impact of incidents but do not avoid the risk by removing the activity or asset entirely.

When a choice describes removing an asset or stopping an activity think avoidance. If the answer talks about reducing likelihood or shifting responsibility then it is probably mitigation or transfer instead.

Detect configuration drift and vulnerabilities that could permit unauthorized access is the correct choice.

Continuous configuration monitoring is designed to detect deviations from approved baselines and to surface misconfigurations or missing patches that create security gaps. In this scenario the database node the application server and the web tier are all on the internal network and continuous monitoring helps identify unauthorized changes or newly introduced vulnerabilities so they can be remediated before an attacker exploits them.

Security Command Center is incorrect because it names a specific product or tool and does not describe the principal advantage of continuous configuration monitoring itself. The question asks for the core benefit and not for a vendor solution.

Remove the need for scheduled compliance audits is incorrect because continuous monitoring complements audits but does not eliminate them. Scheduled audits provide point in time evidence and formal attestations that organizations still need for compliance programs.

Maintain optimal system performance and resource efficiency is incorrect because while configuration monitoring can reveal performance related misconfigurations the primary objective is reducing security risk and detecting vulnerabilities rather than optimizing resource efficiency.

When a question asks about continuous configuration monitoring look for answers that mention drift misconfigurations or vulnerabilities because those describe the security focused advantage over point in time audits.

The correct answer is Update the password requirements and mandate multi factor authentication for user accounts.

Enforcing stronger password requirements and mandating multi factor authentication addresses the root cause by making easily guessed passwords ineffective and by requiring a second factor to authenticate. Technical controls prevent unauthorized access even when an individual user chooses a weak password and they scale across the organization without relying on each person to change behavior.

In addition, updating password rules can include blocking common passwords and encouraging passphrases which align with modern guidance, and mandatory multi factor authentication greatly reduces the chance of account compromise from credential guessing or phishing.

Cloud Identity is not the best answer because the question asks for a specific corrective step to fix weak passwords and prevent recurrence. Cloud Identity is a product name and choosing a product does not by itself state the required policy changes or enforcement that fix the problem.

Temporarily suspend the user until they complete mandatory security training is not ideal because suspension only halts access and training alone previously failed to change the employee’s behavior. The situation calls for enforceable technical controls that remove the vulnerability rather than only punishing or educating a single employee.

Terminate the employee to set an example is disproportionate and does not solve the systemic weakness. Termination may create other risks and morale problems and it still would not ensure that remaining users adopt stronger passwords or that accounts are protected by multi factor authentication.

When an exam scenario shows persistent risky behavior despite training choose a technical control that enforces secure behavior such as strong password policies and mandatory MFA rather than options that focus only on discipline or training.

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Moderate is the correct option for this system.

The system stores and handles sensitive information but it is not essential to the nonprofit’s core services. A Moderate security categorization fits when loss of confidentiality, availability, or integrity would have a serious but not catastrophic effect on organizational operations, assets, or individuals. Controls for a Moderate impact system are therefore stronger than for low systems and focus on protecting sensitive data while balancing cost and operational needs.

High is incorrect because that level is meant for systems where loss would have a severe or catastrophic effect on operations, assets, or individuals. The scenario does not describe that degree of mission impact.

Low is incorrect because low applies when loss would have a limited adverse effect. Sensitive information generally poses more than a limited risk and needs protections beyond a low categorization.

Extreme is incorrect because extreme is not a standard impact category in common federal and international frameworks and it would imply an impact beyond catastrophic. That makes it an unlikely and inappropriate choice for the described system.

When an item is described as sensitive but not mission critical choose moderate if harm would be serious but not catastrophic. Watch for words like nonessential and sensitive to guide your mapping to impact levels.

The correct answer is Coordinate with the system owner and the security team to reassess the heightened risk and determine appropriate mitigations.

Coordinate with the system owner and the security team to reassess the heightened risk and determine appropriate mitigations is correct because the authorizing official must respond to changed threat intelligence by re-evaluating the risk decision. The AO needs to engage the system owner and security staff to determine whether the residual risk remains acceptable and to identify appropriate mitigations or changes to the authorization.

This coordinated reassessment ensures that any technical testing, interim measures, or updates to the security documentation are based on a documented risk decision and aligned with continuous monitoring processes.

Request a focused update to the security control assessment that targets the specific vulnerability is not the best immediate answer because a focused assessment may be part of the response but it should follow a coordinated risk reassessment. The AO must first work with stakeholders to decide if the assessment is needed and what scope it should cover.

Defer any changes until the next scheduled security control assessment is incorrect because delaying action ignores an increased exploitation likelihood and may leave the system exposed. The AO must act when new intelligence materially changes risk rather than waiting for routine cycles.

Apply temporary compensating controls such as stricter access rules and increased monitoring while the situation is analyzed is not the best single choice because temporary controls might be appropriate but they should be implemented as part of the coordinated reassessment. The AO should oversee and document the decision rather than assume specific technical measures without stakeholder agreement.

When threat intelligence changes pick the answer that emphasizes coordinated reassessment with stakeholders and documented risk decisions rather than unilateral or delayed actions.

Tailor the controls to meet company requirements while ensuring they still fulfill security requirements is the correct choice.

Tailoring is an accepted and expected practice when implementing NIST SP 800-53 based controls because organizations vary in mission, technology, and risk tolerance. You should adjust control parameters and select control enhancements to match company needs while documenting the rationale and ensuring the controls still meet the original security objectives and satisfy risk management requirements.

Choose alternative controls that achieve the same security objectives is not correct because the option implies substituting controls without following a formal tailoring and documentation process. Replacements are only acceptable when they are justified, documented, and shown to provide equivalent or stronger protection within the established risk framework.

Apply the controls as written even if they do not fully meet company needs is not correct because blindly applying controls can leave gaps or impose undue burden. Controls must be adapted so they are effective and practical for the environment while still meeting security goals.

Cloud Security Command Center is not correct because this is a specific cloud security product and not an action related to tailoring NIST SP 800-53 controls. Selecting a platform tool does not address the need to customize and document controls to meet organizational requirements.

When a control does not fit exactly, remember to use tailoring rather than ad hoc replacement or blind application. Document every change and map it back to the control objectives to show equivalent security.

The correct option is Evaluating controls through testing and measurement.

Control selection is primarily about choosing which security controls are needed, tailoring baselines to the system, and mapping those controls to system components and responsibilities. Evaluation through testing and measurement is an assessment activity that verifies whether implemented controls are effective and it normally happens after controls are implemented and operating.

Assigning controls to system components is part of the selection and design work because teams must decide which components will host or enforce each control and document those assignments as part of the control selection and implementation plan.

Implementing Cloud Audit Logs and Cloud Monitoring configurations can read as an implementation task but in the control selection phase teams typically specify logging and monitoring requirements and desired configurations so that implementation can follow. Defining those logging and monitoring controls is therefore consistent with control selection.

Customizing baseline controls to match system requirements is a core selection activity because baselines are tailored to the system environment and risk profile during the selection and design phase.

Read each choice for the key action verb. If the verb implies selecting, tailoring, or mapping it is likely a selection phase activity. If the verb implies testing or measuring it is likely an assessment or monitoring phase task.

The correct answer is Recommend and document compensating safeguards that mitigate the identified risks while fitting the budget and performance constraints.

This choice is correct because the authorization board must ensure that the system has effective protections even when baseline controls cannot be implemented exactly as prescribed, and the board can approve compensating safeguards that provide equivalent risk reduction while respecting budget and performance constraints.

The board should require documentation of the selected compensating safeguards, an assessment of their effectiveness, and a plan of action and milestones to address any remaining weaknesses so that the authorizing official can make an informed residual risk decision.

Revise the proposed security controls to lower cost and reduce their impact on system throughput is incorrect because arbitrarily weakening required controls to save money or improve performance creates unacceptable gaps, and the board should only accept alternatives that are documented and demonstrably equivalent.

Issue a temporary authorization contingent on a documented plan to accept and manage the identified risks is incorrect for an extremely sensitive and mission critical system because granting any authorization without verified mitigations can expose patients and operations, and a temporary authorization should not replace implementing or documenting effective compensating safeguards and clear remediation timelines.

Deny authorization until all of the recommended security controls are fully implemented is also incorrect because an absolute denial can unnecessarily block mission-critical services when documented compensating safeguards or a prioritized remediation plan with a POA&M can provide a safe, controlled path to operation while reducing immediate risk.

When controls cannot be implemented exactly document the equivalency and the residual risk, require measurable mitigations and a POA&M, and ensure the authorizing official explicitly accepts any remaining risk.

The correct option is Project startup and scoping.

This phase is where the authorization perimeter should be defined because it establishes the system boundaries, the assets that need protection, the stakeholders and the regulatory and business requirements that drive access control decisions and security goals. Defining the perimeter during startup and scoping ensures that architecture, threat modeling and requirements capture include who and what need access and it reduces cost and rework later in the lifecycle.

Operations and maintenance is incorrect because this phase focuses on running and supporting the system after it is built and deployed. Controls can be adjusted in operations, but the core authorization perimeter must already be set to guide deployment and design choices.

Development and unit testing is incorrect because this phase is for implementing and verifying features within an already defined boundary. Defining the perimeter only at this stage risks architectural rework and missed requirements for access control and auditability.

Deployment and rollout is incorrect because this phase implements design and configuration choices that should follow from earlier scoping. Waiting until rollout to define the perimeter makes changes costly and can lead to insecure defaults during testing and operations.

When you must choose an SDLC phase think about when scope and constraints are established. The authorization perimeter belongs in startup and scoping so that requirements and architecture can be aligned before design and coding begin.

The degree to which a control’s implementation is expected to change over time is correct.

Control volatility refers to how much a safeguard is expected to change as technologies, business processes, or threat landscapes evolve. That phrasing matches the idea of an expected degree of change in the control itself rather than a single error or a measured probability.

Misconfigured Cloud IAM policies that permit unintended access is incorrect because that option describes a specific misconfiguration or vulnerability and not the general concept of how a control is expected to change over time.

The probability that configuration drift will cause a control to become noncompliant is incorrect because it frames the issue as a likelihood or probability. Volatility concerns the expected degree of change or churn in the control, not the probability that drift will lead to noncompliance.

The risk that changes in the system or its external environment will render a control ineffective is incorrect because it describes an outcome or risk from changes rather than the expected rate or degree of change in the control’s implementation. Volatility is about expected change itself and not directly about the resulting risk of ineffectiveness.

When you see wording about how much something is expected to change pick the option that mentions degree or expected to change over time. Eliminate answers that focus on a specific misconfiguration or that measure probability or risk.

The correct option is Apply an interim mitigation to reduce the vulnerability’s risk while planning and deploying a permanent fix.

This approach lowers immediate risk while preserving business continuity. An interim mitigation can be a configuration change network restriction or temporary compensating control that reduces exposure and attack surface while the team designs tests and prepares a validated patch or code change.

Applying a temporary measure also gives time to perform proper testing and rollback planning so the permanent fix can be deployed without causing outages or introducing new issues. Vulnerability management best practices call for reducing risk quickly and then following through with a verified remediation.

Immediately power off the affected system until the issue is resolved is not ideal because powering off can disrupt essential services and can be disproportionate to the level of risk. It may be required in extreme cases but it is rarely the first step and it does not address the need for a planned permanent fix.

Open a formal incident and escalate to the patch management team for scheduled remediation is incomplete because creating a ticket or escalating without first applying a mitigation leaves the system exposed until the scheduled remediation occurs. Formal tracking is important but it should be paired with immediate risk reduction.

Continue normal operations and ignore the vulnerability is unsafe and unacceptable because it leaves systems at risk and violates standard security practices. Ignoring a discovered vulnerability invites exploitation and potential compromise.

When you see vulnerability response questions pick the choice that both reduces immediate risk and allows time for a tested permanent remediation.

Security incident and event management systems is the correct option.

Security incident and event management systems are detective controls because they collect, aggregate, and correlate logs and events from multiple sources and generate alerts when anomalous or malicious activity is observed.

Security incident and event management systems provide continuous monitoring, alerting, and forensic data that enable security teams to detect incidents in progress or discover them after they occur, which is the primary purpose of detective controls.

Identity and access management controls are not detective because they are primarily preventive and they focus on controlling who can access resources and what actions they can perform.

Backup and restore procedures are not detective because they are corrective controls used to recover data and systems after an incident rather than to detect that an incident is occurring.

Encryption of data at rest and in transit is not detective because it is a preventive control that protects confidentiality and integrity by making data unreadable to unauthorized parties rather than by detecting security events.

When asked to identify a detective control think of tools that detect and alert such as SIEM. Distinguish those from preventive controls that block activity and corrective controls that restore systems.

To ensure the chosen controls support organizational objectives and reflect a range of perspectives is correct.

This option is correct because selecting security controls is not only a technical task but also a governance and business decision. Involving representatives from several departments helps ensure controls align with business goals and risk tolerance. It also brings diverse perspectives on threats, impacts, and operational constraints which reduces blind spots and increases the chance of practical and effective controls.

Cross functional participation improves acceptance and implementation. When application owners, infrastructure teams, legal staff, and business managers all contribute there is clearer understanding of trade offs and dependencies. That reduces friction during deployment and helps ensure controls do not inadvertently block critical business processes.

To meet external regulatory and audit requirements is incorrect because while regulatory needs are important they are only one factor. The option states a narrow purpose and does not capture the primary reason which is achieving alignment with organizational objectives and diverse perspectives.

To keep a detailed audit trail of decisions and implementation steps is incorrect because maintaining an audit trail is a useful practice but it is a procedural outcome rather than the main reason to involve multiple departments. The question asks why representatives should take part in selecting controls and not how to document the selection process.

To validate technical feasibility with application owners and infrastructure engineers is incorrect because technical validation is necessary but it is only part of the selection process. Limiting participation to feasibility checks misses the broader need for business alignment and risk perspective that comes from including nontechnical stakeholders.

When a question asks about who should participate in control selection choose the answer that emphasizes alignment with business objectives and diverse stakeholder perspectives.

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Permanent loss of records that triggers regulatory breaches and audit failures is the correct answer.

This is the primary hazard because required backups and retention copies are often legal or regulatory obligations. If those copies are not preserved the records can become irretrievable and the organization can face compliance penalties, failed audits, litigation risks, and loss of evidence needed for investigations.

Residual permissions or misconfiguration that increase the chance of data exposure is not the best choice because that issue describes access control weaknesses and potential data leaks. The question asks about the main hazard from failing to preserve backups and retention copies and that is the permanent loss of records and compliance failure rather than leftover permissions.

Unexpected rise in storage and retention costs from keeping obsolete backups is incorrect because decommissioning systems normally reduces storage costs. The scenario is about not preserving backups and retention copies and the major risk there is losing required records not incurring higher retention costs.

Temporary reduction in network throughput during shutdown and migration tasks is wrong because throughput impacts are operational and short lived. The core concern when backups and retention copies are not preserved is a lasting loss of records with regulatory and audit consequences and not a transient performance degradation.

When a question asks about the primary hazard give priority to long term legal and compliance impacts. Watch for words like permanent and regulatory to guide your choice.

All of these risks and controls should be taken into account is correct because migrating customer records to the cloud creates multiple, distinct risk categories that must all be evaluated and mitigated together.

The migration will create operational risk which includes outages, latency and potential data loss so resilience controls such as multi region replication, load balancing and routine backups are essential. The move also raises confidentiality and regulatory risks including unauthorized access and data breaches so strong encryption, centralized identity and access management and scheduled compliance audits are required. In addition there is vendor and contract risk from loss of control and poor transitions so staged testing, formal service agreements and documented exit procedures must be in place. Taken together these controls provide a layered approach that addresses availability, confidentiality and vendor governance.

Operational failures and data loss including service outages and latency and mitigations like multi region replication Cloud Load Balancing and routine backups is not the best single answer because it focuses only on availability and resiliency. That option omits confidentiality and vendor transition concerns which are critical for customer records and regulatory compliance.

Risks to confidentiality and regulatory compliance such as data breaches and unauthorized access and mitigations like strong encryption centralized identity management and scheduled compliance audits is also incomplete. It covers confidentiality and compliance but it does not address operational resilience or vendor management which are required for a safe and reliable cloud migration.

Incomplete transfers loss of control over records and poor vendor transition plans mitigated by staged testing formal service agreements and documented exit procedures is likewise insufficient on its own. Vendor transition controls are important but they do not replace the need to mitigate availability issues or to enforce encryption and access controls for regulatory requirements.

When an answer option lists multiple risk categories and controls, favor the choice that covers all major areas. Focus on availability, confidentiality, integrity and vendor governance when evaluating cloud migration questions.

They have limited budgets and therefore concentrate implementation on controls that mitigate the highest risks is correct. Small nonprofits and early stage firms typically cannot afford to implement the entire NIST SP 800-53 catalog at once and so they prioritize controls that address their most significant risks and exposures.

NIST guidance supports a risk based approach and explicit tailoring of controls so organizations can focus resources where they matter most. Conducting a risk assessment helps pick the controls that reduce the biggest threats first and allows smaller organizations to implement a defensible subset rather than an unprioritized checklist.

Prioritization also lets teams deploy compensating controls and phased implementation plans so security improves iteratively. This approach balances cost, staff capacity, and the need to reduce the highest likelihood or impact scenarios first.

They depend on Google Cloud managed services to handle many security controls is wrong because managed services can reduce some responsibilities but do not remove the organization s obligation to implement many security and compliance controls. The shared responsibility model means the cloud provider and the customer each retain different control responsibilities.

They have abundant staff and can apply every control immediately is wrong because the premise is unrealistic for small nonprofits and early stage firms. Implementing every control immediately requires budget and personnel that these organizations usually do not have.

They assume no compliance requirements apply to them is wrong because many organizations do have legal, contractual, or donor driven obligations and assuming no requirements exist would be an unsafe and rarely accurate justification for skipping controls.

When you see constraints like limited budget or staff pick the answer that describes a risk based or tailored approach rather than absolute statements about doing everything or nothing.

Waterfall model is the correct choice for initiatives that demand strict regulatory oversight and comprehensive documentation at each step.

The Waterfall model uses a linear, phase gated lifecycle with clear stages such as requirements, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. Each phase produces formal artifacts and requires approvals before moving forward which provides strong traceability and auditability. That formal structure and emphasis on documentation and sign offs align with regulatory requirements and compliance processes.

Spiral model is iterative and risk driven and it focuses on repeated cycles of prototyping and risk assessment. It can include documentation but it does not enforce the same rigid phase gated artifacts and formal approvals that regulators often require which makes it less suitable than the Waterfall approach for strict oversight.

DevOps emphasizes continuous integration, delivery, automation, and close collaboration between development and operations. It prioritizes rapid delivery and feedback which can reduce the emphasis on heavy phase by phase documentation and formal handoffs that many regulatory regimes expect.

Agile values working software and responding to change over comprehensive documentation. Agile methods are intentionally adaptive and lightweight on prescribed artifacts which makes them less appropriate when strict regulatory oversight demands extensive, predefined documentation and formal approvals.

When a question mentions strict regulatory oversight and required artifacts choose a lifecycle that enforces phase gated documentation and formal sign offs. Pay attention to keywords like documentation and approvals in the stem.

The correct answer is Information Security Officer.

The Information Security Officer provides oversight and advice to system owners during the selection and implementation of security controls. This role focuses on aligning control choices with organizational policy and risk tolerance and on coordinating the overall security posture while controls are chosen and put into place.

The ISSO acts as a governance and compliance advisor who helps interpret control baselines and tailoring guidance and who documents control decisions and residual risk for senior decision makers.

Cloud Security Engineer is primarily a technical implementer who configures and manages cloud services and applied controls rather than providing organizational oversight and policy advice during control selection.

Authorizing Official is the person who accepts the risk and formally authorizes a system to operate. That role makes the risk acceptance decision after controls are implemented and assessed instead of advising system owners while controls are being chosen.

Security Control Assessor independently evaluates and tests implemented controls to determine their effectiveness. The assessor role evaluates and documents control effectiveness rather than advising system owners during control selection.

Focus on the function described not the job title. Ask whether the role advises and oversees control selection or whether it assesses or authorizes risk. The Information Security Officer is the advisor and overseer.

Perform a comprehensive gap analysis to identify nonconformities and build a prioritized remediation plan is the best approach to ensure your operations meet the updated standards.

A comprehensive gap analysis allows the compliance team to map the new requirements to existing policies procedures and technical controls and to identify specific nonconformities and control weaknesses. It creates a factual baseline that supports risk informed decisions and provides evidence for regulators.

From the gap analysis the team can build a prioritized remediation plan that focuses on the highest risk items first and allocates resources efficiently. This phased approach reduces exposure quickly and produces a clear roadmap and timeline for management and auditors.

Contract an outside compliance consultancy to perform and manage the compliance work is not the best primary action because external consultants can advise and assist but they do not remove the organization s accountability. Consultants are most effective after a gap assessment when the organization knows the scope and can use outside expertise selectively.

Begin an immediate wholesale rewrite of all governance policies and procedures is not appropriate because rewriting everything without first assessing gaps can waste time and introduce inconsistencies. Targeted updates based on identified nonconformities are more efficient and less risky.

Deploy automated cloud based monitoring and continuous auditing to detect and address compliance issues iteratively is useful as part of a long term controls strategy but it should not be the first step. Automation is most effective after you have a baseline and a prioritized remediation plan so that tools monitor the right controls and generate meaningful alerts.

Begin with a gap analysis to map new requirements to current controls and produce a prioritized remediation roadmap before investing in tools or making large policy changes.

Conduct a security impact assessment to evaluate effects on controls is correct.

When a configuration change may affect system security controls NIST continuous monitoring guidance requires evaluating the effects on the control baseline and the system risk posture before making changes to documentation or operations. Performing a security impact assessment lets Brightwell identify which controls remain effective which controls need retesting and what mitigation or compensating controls are required.

The results will tell the organization whether it needs to update the system security plan adjust the plan of actions and milestones or initiate formal reauthorization under the risk management framework. The assessment therefore informs next steps and helps maintain an accurate control baseline.

Cloud Security Command Center is incorrect because the question asks for the proper NIST aligned process to evaluate control impact and not for a specific vendor product or tool. A tool might be useful later but it does not replace the required impact assessment.

Update the system security plan without further analysis is incorrect because updating the plan before understanding the change could record inaccurate information and miss necessary mitigations. You must assess impact first and then update plans based on assessment findings.

Trigger the incident response process and isolate the system is incorrect because a configuration change alone is not necessarily a security incident. Incident response is appropriate when there is evidence of compromise. First perform a security impact assessment to determine whether isolation or incident handling is required.

When a question links a change to control effectiveness choose the action that assesses impact first and then updates plans or triggers other processes.

The correct answer is Apply temporary compensating controls such as intensified logging and tighter access controls.

Apply temporary compensating controls such as intensified logging and tighter access controls is the appropriate short term risk response because it directly reduces exposure while a permanent remediation is developed. Compensating controls can limit who can reach the vulnerable functions and improve the chances of detecting misuse early. Examples include restricting access to the payments application by network segmentation and firewall rules, enforcing stronger access controls and multifactor authentication, and increasing logging and real time monitoring so suspicious activity is caught and contained quickly.

Purchase cyber insurance to transfer potential financial losses is incorrect because insurance does not reduce the immediate technical exposure or prevent data exfiltration. Insurance may help cover costs after an incident but it does not stop attackers or protect customer records now.

Deploy Google Cloud Armor to filter and block malicious incoming traffic is incorrect as the best short term response in this scenario because the flaw affects a core payments application and may be exploitable by authenticated users or internal system integrations. A vendor specific edge filter may help in some attack patterns but it does not by itself address access control weaknesses or provide the broader set of compensating measures needed while a fix is developed.

Accept the vulnerability and continue operations while actively monitoring for misuse is incorrect because acceptance without additional controls leaves confidential customer data at high risk. Monitoring alone is detection and not prevention, and for a severe flaw that exposes sensitive records it is prudent to implement controls that reduce attack surface and contain potential abuse while a permanent remediation is implemented.

When a patch is not immediately available focus on compensating controls that either restrict access or improve detection and containment and choose measures that you can implement quickly and verify.

Perform a threat modeling exercise focused on mobile applications is the correct choice.

A threat modeling exercise focused on mobile applications helps engineers uncover and assess data security threats early by mapping sensitive assets and data flows and by identifying trust boundaries and likely attack vectors before development begins. This makes it possible to prioritize controls and design decisions so that confidentiality of client records is built into the app architecture rather than bolted on later.

A threat modeling exercise for mobile apps explicitly considers mobile specific risks such as platform permissions and sandboxing, secure local storage and backups, insecure inter app communication, network interception on mobile networks and Wi Fi, risks from third party libraries, and device loss or theft. Capturing these scenarios early leads to concrete mitigations like encryption at rest, certificate pinning, least privilege for permissions, and safe use of platform APIs.

Run automated vulnerability scans with Cloud Security Scanner is incorrect because automated scanners are useful later in the development lifecycle for finding implementation issues but they do not replace design time activities that identify architectural and data flow threats. Automated scanning also may target web endpoints and may miss mobile specific threats.

Carry out market research to learn user security preferences is incorrect because user preference research can inform usability and feature prioritization but it does not systematically identify technical threats to confidentiality or reveal attack surfaces and trust boundaries that threat modeling uncovers.

Prioritize rapid delivery and remediate security issues after launch is incorrect because deferring security until after release increases risk to confidential client data and makes fixes more costly. The question asks for an approach to identify threats before development which makes pre development threat modeling the right answer.

Choose answers that focus on identifying risks in the design phase and on activities that map data flows and trust boundaries like threat modeling rather than only relying on later testing or market research.

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

The correct answer is Evaluate the vulnerability, prioritize remediation by risk, and update the POA&M to track remediation.

When a continuous monitoring program detects a vulnerability the next step is to assess it so you understand the impact and exploitability and then prioritize remediation based on risk. You document the chosen remediation actions and timelines in the POA&M so that accountability and progress are tracked and auditors can verify that the issue is being managed.

The evaluation step includes verifying the finding reproduces on the system and determining compensating controls and interim mitigations when full remediation cannot be immediate. Prioritizing by risk ensures scarce resources address the most dangerous issues first and ensures decisions are defensible.

Notify the system owner and wait for their instructions is incorrect because passive notification and waiting does not satisfy continuous monitoring requirements. Monitoring requires assessment and tracking of remediation rather than indefinite delays while waiting for direction.

Apply an emergency patch immediately without analyzing potential impacts is incorrect because applying changes without analysis can break systems and cause outages. Emergency action may sometimes be required for critical exploits but it still needs a rapid impact assessment and documentation in the remediation plan.

Open a security finding in Cloud Security Command Center and begin triage is incorrect because that is a tool specific action and it only starts triage. The required next step is a risk based evaluation and updating the POA&M so the remediation is prioritized and tracked across the organization.

When you see continuous monitoring questions choose the answer that describes a risk based evaluation and formal tracking approach such as using a POA&M rather than answers that suggest only waiting or immediately applying fixes without analysis.

The correct option is Create a holistic map of the enterprise information technology landscape.

An enterprise architecture provides a high level and integrated view of applications, data, technology, and business processes so the organization can align technology decisions with long term goals. A holistic map of the enterprise information technology landscape documents relationships, standards, and roadmaps and supports planning, governance, and investment decisions across the company.

Determine the system hardware and software specifications is incorrect because those activities belong to detailed design and procurement phases and not to the strategic scope of enterprise architecture. Choosing specific hardware and software is an implementation and operations responsibility that follows architectural guidance.

Design cloud infrastructure topology and deployment details is incorrect because cloud topology and deployment are detailed solution designs done by cloud and platform teams. Enterprise architecture sets principles and requirements that guide those designs but it does not normally produce low level deployment diagrams as its primary output.

Evaluate whether security controls meet organizational requirements is incorrect because assessment and testing of security controls are governance, compliance, and assurance activities. Security architecture is a domain within enterprise architecture, but evaluating control effectiveness is a separate operational and audit function.

When you see choices that differ by level of detail pick the one that addresses the overall scope and alignment of systems and processes. Enterprise architecture is about broad, strategic views and roadmaps rather than specific implementations or testing tasks.

All of the above factors combined is correct because the frequency of control reevaluation should be based on multiple factors working together.

Sensitivity and classification of data affect potential impact and exposure, and higher sensitivity often requires more frequent review to ensure controls remain effective and compliant.

Availability of staff and tools to perform reassessments affects how practical and timely those reviews can be, and resource constraints may require adjustments in scheduling or the use of automated monitoring to maintain adequate oversight.

An organization’s risk appetite and tolerance determine how much residual risk is acceptable, and a lower tolerance for risk will drive more frequent reevaluation of controls to reduce uncertainty and exposure.

The sensitivity and classification of the data the information system handles is important but incomplete on its own because sensitivity must be weighed against resources and the organization’s risk posture when setting reevaluation frequency.

The availability of staff and tools to perform reassessments is a practical constraint but it does not by itself dictate frequency because even with limited resources an organization may increase automation or change priorities based on sensitivity and risk appetite.

The organization’s risk appetite and tolerance defines desired risk levels but it is not sufficient alone because acceptable risk must be balanced with data sensitivity and the ability to perform effective reassessments.

When a question lists several interdependent factors, consider whether a combined assessment is needed. If each factor would change the answer on its own, then All of the above is likely correct.

Engage security subject matter experts to identify the most effective controls for the specific vulnerability is the correct choice.

By choosing to engage security subject matter experts the team ensures the vulnerability is assessed in its technical and business context and that selected controls target the root cause. Experts can evaluate exploitability, recommend compensating and preventive measures, prioritize controls by risk and feasibility, and map recommendations to established standards for compliance and auditing.

Use established control frameworks such as NIST SP 80053 and CIS Benchmarks is not sufficient on its own because frameworks provide broad baselines and they must be tailored to the specific vulnerability and environment. Frameworks are valuable references but they do not replace targeted analysis and judgement.

Survey other firms in the sector to learn which controls they have adopted is a weak approach because peer practices may reflect different architectures and risk tolerances and they may lag behind current threats. Copying others without contextual evaluation can leave gaps or introduce unnecessary controls.

Choose the most expensive controls to ensure the highest level of protection is incorrect because higher cost does not guarantee better mitigation for the specific issue and it can create complexity and operational burden. Controls should be appropriate and proportional to the assessed risk and to the organisation’s constraints.

Focus on a risk based and contextual approach when selecting controls and prefer expert recommendations that map to established frameworks rather than applying controls blindly.

Lowered costs from security incidents is correct because an information security management system is intended to identify and manage information risks so that the frequency and impact of security incidents is reduced and remediation and recovery costs are lowered.

An ISMS uses risk assessment, selected controls, monitoring and continual improvement to prevent or limit incidents. These activities reduce direct costs such as incident response and system recovery and indirect costs such as regulatory fines, lost revenue and reputational damage.

Higher customer satisfaction is not the primary advantage. Strong security can improve customer trust but that is a secondary benefit rather than the main purpose of an ISMS.

Expanded market presence is not the primary advantage. Certification or demonstrable controls can support marketability in some cases but the core aim remains managing information risk and protecting assets.

Improved employee engagement is not the primary advantage. An ISMS can raise awareness and involvement but the main focus is on reducing incidents and their costs.

When a question asks for a primary advantage focus on answers that describe direct outcomes such as risk reduction or cost avoidance rather than indirect or optional benefits.

The correct option is Reconfigure the monitoring agent to collect only from the active service.

Reconfiguring the agent is the precise and least disruptive action because it stops the agent from collecting irrelevant data while keeping monitoring for the active service intact. Adjusting the agent’s target filters or service discovery settings lets you restore accurate metrics and alerts without removing monitoring from other hosts.

Export and archive the collected logs to Cloud Storage before investigation is not the best immediate action because exporting does not stop the ongoing collection or correct the misconfiguration. It only preserves data and can add unnecessary storage cost while the root cause remains.

Leave the agent running without making changes is incorrect because it allows continued collection of irrelevant data which leads to noisy metrics, potential false alerts, and extra cost. Passive acceptance does not resolve the problem.

Stop and uninstall the monitoring tool from all hosts is overly broad and harmful because it removes visibility for all services running on those hosts. Uninstalling is disproportionate when a configuration change will fix the issue with far less risk.

When an agent is collecting the wrong data prefer a solution that fixes the configuration and minimizes disruption so you preserve monitoring for unaffected services and avoid unnecessary data loss.

The correct answer is Confirm that deployed security controls function as intended and satisfy the organization’s security requirements.

A security control evaluation is specifically intended to validate that controls are implemented correctly and that they operate effectively in the live environment. This activity matches Confirm that deployed security controls function as intended and satisfy the organization’s security requirements because the evaluation uses tests and evidence to show the controls meet the defined security requirements and support authorization decisions.

Estimate the residual risk to the system after controls are implemented is incorrect because estimating residual risk is a risk assessment activity that quantifies remaining risk after controls are considered. It is related to control effectiveness but it is not the primary objective of a control evaluation.

Assess compliance with relevant laws regulatory frameworks and contractual security obligations is incorrect because compliance assessment focuses on alignment with external requirements. A control evaluation can produce evidence useful for compliance but its main aim is to verify operational effectiveness rather than to demonstrate regulatory compliance.

Detect vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the application environment is incorrect because finding vulnerabilities is the focus of vulnerability scanning and penetration testing. A control evaluation may reveal weaknesses in controls but its core purpose is to confirm that controls function as intended and meet requirements.

When a question asks about the main objective look for wording about the primary activity. For control evaluations pick the option that emphasizes verifying operational effectiveness of controls rather than estimating risk or enumerating vulnerabilities.

Engaging a third party to assume the exposure through insurance or contractual terms is the correct choice because it explicitly describes transferring the exposure to an external party who accepts financial or contractual responsibility for potential losses.

Transfer is a risk treatment that shifts responsibility for potential loss to another entity, often through insurance policies, indemnity clauses, or service contracts. By placing the obligation on an insurer or contracting partner the original organization reduces its direct exposure while the risk continues to exist in another form.

Implementing safeguards to reduce the probability or severity of the exposure is incorrect because that describes mitigation or controls that reduce likelihood or impact rather than shifting responsibility to a third party.

Acknowledging the exposure and maintaining a contingency plan is incorrect because that describes acceptance or retention, which means keeping the risk and preparing to respond rather than transferring it.

Eliminating the activity that produces the exposure so that the risk no longer exists is incorrect because that describes avoidance, which removes the activity to eliminate the risk rather than assigning it to an external party.

When an answer mentions insurance or contractual arrangements think “transfer” and exclude options that describe reducing, accepting, or eliminating the risk.

Protect is correct.

The Protect function concentrates on designing and applying safeguards so that essential infrastructure services remain available. It encompasses access control, data security, protective technologies, and maintenance practices that reduce the likelihood of disruptions and preserve availability.

Detect is incorrect because it is focused on identifying anomalies and security events rather than on implementing safeguards to maintain service availability.

Respond is incorrect because it addresses actions taken after an incident to contain and mitigate impact rather than proactively designing protections to keep services available.

Identify is incorrect because it deals with understanding assets, risks, and governance and not directly with applying safeguards to ensure availability.

Read the question for key words. Terms like safeguards and availability usually point to the Protect function.

All ISC² questions come from my CGRC Udemy course and the certificationexams.pro website.

Deliver recurring ethics workshops and acknowledge exemplary ethical choices is correct because it establishes an ongoing program that teaches expectations and reinforces positive behavior.

Recurring workshops allow staff to practice responses to realistic dilemmas and make organizational norms explicit. Acknowledging exemplary ethical choices provides positive reinforcement and creates role models. Together training and recognition change culture over time and reduce the likelihood of unethical conduct more effectively than static policies or monitoring alone.

Mandate only written codes of conduct is wrong because a passive document by itself does not ensure understanding or consistent application. Employees need training, discussion, and leadership example to translate a code into everyday decisions.

Enable Cloud Audit Logs for monitoring is wrong because technical monitoring helps detect or investigate incidents but it does not teach ethical decision making or build a supportive culture. Monitoring should be paired with education and clear reporting channels rather than used as the primary means to encourage ethics.

Discourage internal reporting of concerns is wrong because suppressing reporting prevents problems from being identified and corrected and it increases legal and reputational risk. Healthy ethics programs encourage safe reporting and protect those who raise concerns.

Pick answers that emphasize ongoing education and positive reinforcement rather than one time policies or pure technical controls. Programs that combine training, clear reporting, and recognition are the most effective.

The correct option is Reduced reliance on security controls.

Dashboards and metrics are tools for visibility and measurement and they help teams detect problems and assess the effectiveness of existing protections. They augment controls by surfacing alerts, trends, and gaps and they do not remove the need for preventive and corrective controls. For that reason Reduced reliance on security controls does not represent an advantage of using dashboards and metrics.

The option Early detection of security incidents is an advantage because dashboards aggregate logs, alerts, and anomaly indicators so analysts can spot incidents more quickly and respond sooner.

The option Enhanced situational awareness for stakeholders is an advantage because dashboards present centralized visualizations and key performance indicators that help stakeholders understand system status and risk at a glance.

The option Security Command Center integration is an advantage when available because integrating a centralized security product with dashboards allows you to consolidate findings and prioritize remediation more effectively.

When answering these questions focus on whether the statement describes visibility and measurement or a replacement of controls. Dashboards usually provide visibility rather than eliminate the need for controls so treat answers that imply removing controls with skepticism.

The correct answer is Enterprise Risk Executive.

The Enterprise Risk Executive is the organizational role charged with directing and overseeing the enterprise risk management program and making sure it stays aligned with company policies and objectives. This role operates at the enterprise level and coordinates risk strategy, governance, reporting, and policy alignment across business units.

Chief Risk Officer is an executive role that can have similar responsibilities in some organizations but it is not the specific term used in this question. The exam answer requires the enterprise level role named Enterprise Risk Executive rather than the more general title.

System Authorizer is responsible for formally accepting risk for a specific information system and granting authorization to operate. That role works at the system level and does not direct the enterprise risk management program.

System Risk Owner is responsible for managing risks for an individual system or application. That role focuses on system level controls and mitigation plans and does not oversee enterprise wide risk management.

When a question asks about directing and overseeing risk across the whole organization choose the role that explicitly operates at the enterprise level rather than system level roles.

The correct answer is Apply the stricter security requirements from either system to the integrated system.

When two systems with different data protection classifications are combined the safe approach is to require the controls that satisfy the higher classification and the more stringent control requirements. Applying the stricter requirements reduces the risk that a weak control will expose more sensitive data and it helps ensure compliance with legal and contractual obligations.

Implementers should perform a risk assessment to identify the highest sensitivity data and then select control baselines that meet those needs. This typically means choosing controls that cover confidentiality integrity and availability goals at the stricter level and documenting any compensating controls or residual risk.

Adopt the least restrictive controls from both systems is incorrect because choosing the weakest controls increases exposure and can make the combined system noncompliant with the requirements that protected the more sensitive data.

Use Google Cloud IAM is incorrect because the question asks which factor should determine the controls not which specific product to use. A product like an identity and access management solution can be part of the implementation but it does not replace the need to apply the stricter security requirements based on data classification.

Merge controls proportionally based on user traffic patterns is incorrect because traffic volume does not determine data sensitivity or compliance obligations. Proportional merging can leave high sensitivity data insufficiently protected when it is accessed less frequently.

Focus on the highest data classification present when systems are consolidated and pick control baselines that meet that level rather than relying on convenience or product names.