In which of the following areas are data owners PRIMARILY responsible for establishing risk mitigation?
A. Platform security
B. Entitlement changes
C. Intrusion detection
D. Antivirus controls
Which of the following is the BEST justification to convince management to invest in an information security program?
A. Cost reduction
B. Compliance with company policies
C. Protection of business assets
D. Increased business value
To improve the security of an organization's human resources (HR) system, an information security manager was presented with a choice to either implement an additional packet filtering firewall OR a heuristics-based intrusion detection system (IDS). How should the security manager with a limited budget choose between the two technologies?
A. Risk analysis
B. Business impact analysis (BIA)
C. Return on investment (ROI) analysis
D. Cost-benefit analysis
An organization's information security manager has been asked to hire a consultant to help assess the maturity level of the organization's information security management. What is the MOST important element of the request for proposal (RFP)?
A. References from other organizations
B. Past experience of the engagement team
C. Sample deliverable
D. Methodology to be used in the assessment
An organization is implementing intrusion protection in their demilitarized zone (DMZ). Which of the following steps is necessary to make sure that the intrusion prevention system (IPS) can view all traffic in the DMZ?
A. Ensure that intrusion prevention is placed in front of the firewall.
B. Ensure that all devices that are connected can easily see the IPS in the network.
C. Ensure that all encrypted traffic is decrypted prior to being processed by the IPS.
D. Ensure that traffic to all devices is mirrored to the IPS.
Which of the following are likely to be updated MOST frequently?
A. Procedures for hardening database servers
B. Standards for password length and complexity
C. Policies addressing information security governance
D. Standards for document retention and destruction
When performing a qualitative risk analysis, which of the following will BEST produce reliable results?
A. Estimated productivity losses
B. Possible scenarios with threats and impacts
C. Value of information assets
D. Vulnerability assessment
Addressing production risks is PRIMARILY a function of:
A. release management.
B. incident management.
C. change management.
D. configuration management.
Which of the following requirements would have the lowest level of priority in information security?
A. Technical
B. Regulatory
C. Privacy
D. Business
The MOST important component of a privacy policy is:
A. notifications.
B. warranties.
C. liabilities.
D. geographic coverage.
Which of the following groups would be in the BEST position to perform a risk analysis for a business?
A. External auditors
B. A peer group within a similar business
C. Process owners
D. A specialized management consultant
Obtaining senior management support for an information security initiative can BEST be accomplished by:
A. developing and presenting a business case.
B. defining the risk that will be addressed.
C. presenting a financial analysis of benefits.
D. aligning the initiative with organizational objectives.
Which of the following training mechanisms is the MOST effective means of promoting an organizational security culture?
A. Choose a subset of influential people to promote the benefits of the security program.
B. Hold structured training in small groups on an annual basis.
C. Require each employee to complete a self-paced training module once per year.
D. Deliver training to all employees across the organization via streaming video.
Data owners are PRIMARILY responsible for:
A. providing access to systems.
B. approving access to systems.
C. establishing authorization and authentication.
D. handling identity management.
Which of the following are the MOST important individuals to include as members of an information security steering committee?
A. Direct reports to the chief information officer
B. IT management and key business process owners
C. Cross-section of end users and IT professionals
D. Internal audit and corporate legal departments
Which one of the following measures will BEST indicate the effectiveness of an incident response process?
A. Number of open incidents
B. Reduction of the number of security incidents
C. Reduction of the average response time to an incident
D. Number of incidents handled per month
The BEST way to obtain senior management commitment and support for information security investments is to:
A. link security risk to organization business objectives.
B. explain the technical risk to the organization.
C. include industry best practices as they relate to information security.
D. detail successful attacks against a competitor.
When securing wireless access points, which of the following controls would BEST assure confidentiality?
A. Implementing wireless intrusion prevention systems
B. Not broadcasting the service set IDentifier (SSID)
C. Implementing wired equivalent privacy (WEP) authentication
D. Enforcing a virtual private network (VPN) over wireless
Who should PRIMARILY provide direction on the impact of new regulatory requirements that may lead to major application system changes?
A. The internal audit department
B. System developers/analysts
C. Key business process owners
D. Corporate legal counsel
Which of the following choices will MOST influence how the information security program will be designed and implemented?
A. Type and nature of risk
B. Organizational culture
C. Overall business objectives
D. Lines of business
The relationship between policies and corporate standards can BEST be described by which of the following associations?
A. Standards and policies have only an indirect relationship.
B. Standards provide a detailed description of the meaning of a policy.
C. Standards provide direction on achieving compliance with policy intent.
D. Standards can exist without a relationship to any particular policy.
Which one of the following factors of a risk assessment typically involves the GREATEST amount of speculation?
A. Exposure
B. Impact
C. Vulnerability
D. Likelihood
Which of the following is a key component of an incident response policy?
A. Updated call trees
B. Escalation criteria
C. Press release templates
D. Critical backup files inventory
The MOST complete business case for security solutions is one that:
A. includes appropriate justification.
B. explains the current risk profile.
C. details regulatory requirements.
D. identifies incidents and losses.
What is the MOST essential attribute of an effective key risk indicator (KRI)?
A. The KRI is accurate and reliable.
B. The KRI provides quantitative metrics.
C. The KRI indicates required action.
D. The KRI is predictive of a risk event.
Which of the following is MOST effective in protecting against the attack technique known as phishing?
A. Firewall blocking rules
B. Up-to-date signature files
C. Security awareness training
D. Intrusion detection monitoring
The acceptability of a partial system recovery after a security incident is MOST likely to be based on the:
A. ability to resume normal operations.
B. maximum tolerable outage (MTO).
C. service delivery objective (SDO).
D. acceptable interruption window (AIW).
Which of the following presents the GREATEST exposure to internal attack on a network?
A. User passwords are not automatically expired
B. All network traffic goes through a single switch
C. User passwords are encoded but not encrypted
D. All users reside on a single internal subnet
Which of the following is the MOST important aspect that needs to be considered from a security perspective when payroll processes are outsourced to an external service provider?
A. A cost-benefit analysis has been completed.
B. Privacy requirements are met.
C. The service provider ensures a secure data transfer.
D. No significant security incident occurred at the service provider.
Which of the following BEST supports continuous improvement of the risk management process?
A. Regular review of risk treatment options
B. Classification of assets in order of criticality
C. Adoption of a maturity model
D. Integration of assurance functions
Who would be the PRIMARY user of metrics regarding the number of email messages quarantined due to virus infection versus the number of infected email messages that were not caught?
A. The security steering committee
B. The board of directors
C. IT managers
D. The information security manager
Which of the following is the MOST effective way to measure strategic alignment of an information security program?
A. Survey business stakeholders
B. Track audits over time
C. Evaluate incident losses
D. Analyze business cases
Ongoing tracking of remediation efforts to mitigate identified risks can BEST be accomplished through the use of which of the following?
A. Tree diagrams
B. Venn diagrams
C. Heat charts
D. Bar charts
Which of the following is the MAIN objective in contracting with an external company to perform penetration testing?
A. To mitigate technical risks
B. To have an independent certification of network security
C. To receive an independent view of security exposures
D. To identify a complete list of vulnerabilities
The MOST effective approach to ensure the continued effectiveness of information security controls is by:
A. ensuring inherent control strength.
B. ensuring strategic alignment.
C. utilizing effective life cycle management.
D. utilizing effective change management.
Which of the following documents would be the BEST reference to determine whether access control mechanisms are appropriate for a critical application?
A. User security procedures
B. Business process flow
C. IT security standards
D. Regulatory requirements
The IT function has declared that it is not necessary to update the business impact analysis (BIA) when putting a new application into production because it does not produce modifications in the business processes. The information security manager should:
A. verify the decision with the business units.
B. check the system's risk analysis.
C. recommend update after postimplementation review.
D. request an audit review.
Information security governance is PRIMARILY driven by:
A. technology constraints.
B. regulatory requirements.
C. litigation potential.
D. business strategy.
The FIRST step in developing an information security management program is to:
A. identify business risk that affects the organization.
B. establish the need for creating the program.
C. assign responsibility for the program.
D. assess adequacy of existing controls.
A privacy statement on a company's e-commerce web site should include:
A. a statement regarding what the company will do with the information it collects.
B. a disclaimer regarding the accuracy of information on its web site.
C. technical information regarding how information is protected.
D. a statement regarding where the information is being hosted.
What are the essential elements of risk?
A. Impact and threat
B. Likelihood and consequence
C. Threat and exposure
D. Sensitivity and exposure
From an information security manager perspective, what is the immediate benefit of clearly-defined roles and responsibilities?
A. Enhanced policy compliance
B. Improved procedure flows
C. Segregation of duties
D. Better accountability
What action should the security manager take FIRST when incident reports from different organizational units are inconsistent and highly inaccurate?
A. Ensure that a clear organizational incident definition and severity hierarchy exists.
B. Initiate a companywide incident identification training and awareness program.
C. Escalate the issue to the security steering committee for appropriate action.
D. Involve human resources (HR) in implementing a reporting enforcement program.
What is the BIGGEST concern for an information security manager reviewing firewall rules?
A. The firewall allows source routing.
B. The firewall allows broadcast propagation.
C. The firewall allows unregistered ports.
D. The firewall allows nonstandard protocols.
Which of the following is the MOST important reason for an information security review of contracts?
A. To help ensure the parties to the agreement can perform
B. To help ensure confidential data are not included in the agreement
C. To help ensure appropriate controls are included
D. To help ensure the right to audit is a requirement
Logging is an example of which type of defense against systems compromise?
A. Containment
B. Detection
C. Reaction
D. Recovery
Which of the following would be the MOST important goal of an information security governance program?
A. Review of internal control mechanisms
B. Effective involvement in business decision making
C. Total elimination of risk factors
D. Ensuring trust in data
Which of the following is the FIRST step after the intrusion detection system (IDS) sends out an alert about a possible attack?
A. Assess the type and severity of the attack.
B. Determine whether it is an actual incident.
C. Contain the damage to minimize the risk.
D. Minimize the disruption of computer resources.
Which of the following devices should be placed within a demilitarized zone (DMZ)?
A. Network switch
B. Web server
C. Database server
D. File/print server
Which of the following BEST protects confidentiality of information?
A. Information classification
B. Segregation of duties
C. Least privilege
D. Systems monitoring
What is the MOST cost-effective method of identifying new vendor vulnerabilities?
A. External vulnerability reporting sources
B. Periodic vulnerability assessments performed by consultants
C. Intrusion prevention software
D. Honeypots located in the DMZ
What is the MOST important factor in the successful implementation of an enterprisewide information security program?
A. Realistic budget estimates
B. Security awareness
C. Support of senior management
D. Recalculation of the work factor
An organization's IT change management process requires that all change requests be approved by the asset owner and the information security manager. The PRIMARY objective of getting the information security manager's approval is to ensure that:
A. changes comply with security policy.
B. risk from proposed changes is managed.
C. rollback to a current status has been considered.
D. changes are initiated by business managers.
The MOST important purpose of implementing an incident response plan is to:
A. prevent the occurrence of incidents.
B. ensure business continuity.
C. train users on resolution of incidents.
D. promote business resiliency.
Which one of the following groups has final responsibility for the effectiveness of security controls?
A. The security administrator who implemented the controls
B. The organization's chief information security officer (CISO)
C. The organization's senior management
D. The information systems (IS) auditor who recommended the controls
Which of the following factors will MOST affect the extent to which controls should be layered?
A. The extent to which controls are procedural
B. The extent to which controls are subject to the same threat
C. The total cost of ownership for existing controls
D. The extent to which controls fail in a closed condition
What is the PRIMARY focus if an organization considers taking legal action on a security incident?
A. Obtaining evidence as soon as possible
B. Preserving the integrity of the evidence
C. Disconnecting all IT equipment involved
D. Reconstructing the sequence of events
The main mail server of a financial institution has been compromised at the superuser level; the only way to ensure the system is secure would be to:
A. change the root password of the system.
B. implement multifactor authentication.
C. rebuild the system from the original installation medium.
D. disconnect the mail server from the network.
An information security manager is in the process of investigating a network intrusion. One of the enterprise's employees is a suspect. The manager has just obtained the suspect's computer and hard drive. Which of the following is the BEST next step?
A. Create an image of the hard drive.
B. Encrypt the data on the hard drive.
C. Examine the original hard drive.
D. Create a logical copy of the hard drive.
Which of the following is the MOST relevant metric to include in an information security quarterly report to the executive committee?
A. Security compliant servers trend report
B. Percentage of security compliant servers
C. Number of security patches applied
D. Security patches applied trend report
Which of the following elements are the MOST essential to develop an information security strategy?
A. Complete policies and standards
B. An appropriate governance framework
C. Current state and objectives
D. Management intent and direction
Which of the following is the BEST way to erase confidential information stored on magnetic tapes?
A. Performing a low-level format
B. Rewriting with zeros
C. Burning them
D. Degaussing them
Which of the following is the MAIN reason for performing risk assessment on a continuous basis?
A. Justification of the security budget must be continually made.
B. New vulnerabilities are discovered every day.
C. The risk environment is constantly changing.
D. Management needs to be continually informed about emerging risks.
A benefit of using a full disclosure (white box) approach as compared to a blind (black box) approach to penetration testing is that:
A. it simulates the real-life situation of an external security attack.
B. human intervention is not required for this type of test.
C. less time is spent on reconnaissance and information gathering.
D. critical infrastructure information is not revealed to the tester.
Which of the following is the BEST indicator of the level of acceptable risk in an organization?
A. The proportion of identified risk that has been remediated
B. The ratio of business insurance coverage to its cost
C. The percentage of the IT budget allocated to security
D. The percentage of assets that has been classified
Which web application attack facilitates unauthorized access to a database?
A. Cross site request forgery
B. Structured Query Language (SQL) injection
C. Metasploit
D. Cross site scripting
Which of the following is an advantage of a centralized information security organizational structure?
A. It is easier to promote security awareness.
B. It is easier to manage and control.
C. It is more responsive to business unit needs.
D. It provides a faster turnaround for security requests.
Which of the following is the BEST way to verify that all critical production servers are utilizing up-to-date virus signature files?
A. Verify the date that signature files were last pushed out
B. Use a recently identified benign virus to test if it is quarantined
C. Research the most recent signature file and compare to the console
D. Check a sample of servers that the signature files are current
A business unit intends to deploy a new technology in a manner that places it in violation of existing information security standards. What immediate action should an information security manager take?
A. Enforce the existing security standard
B. Change the standard to permit the deployment
C. Perform a risk analysis to quantify the risk
D. Perform research to propose use of a better technology
IT-related risk management activities are MOST effective when they are:
A. treated as a distinct process.
B. conducted by the IT department.
C. integrated within business processes.
D. communicated to all employees.
Which of the following BEST defines the relationships among security technologies?
A. Security metrics
B. Network topology
C. Security architecture
D. Process improvement models
Which of the following is generally considered a fundamental component of an information security program?
A. Role-based access control systems
B. Automated access provisioning
D. Intrusion prevention systems (IPSs)
After a service interruption of a critical system, the incident response team finds that it needs to activate the warm recovery site. Discovering that throughput is only half of the primary site, the team nevertheless notifies management that it has restored the critical system. This is MOST likely because it has achieved the:
A. recovery point objective (RPO).
B. recovery time objective (RTO).
D. maximum tolerable outage (MTO).
Which of the following is the MOST critical consideration when collecting and preserving admissible evidence during an incident response?
A. Unplugging the systems
B. Chain of custody
C. Separation of duties
D. Clock synchronization
The BEST defense against successful phishing attacks is:
A. application hardening.
B. spam filters.
C. an intrusion detection system (IDS).
D. end user awareness.
Which of the following is MOST likely to improve the effectiveness of the incident response team?
A. Briefing team members on the nature of new threats to IS security
B. Periodic testing and updates to incorporate lessons learned
C. Ensuring that all members have a good understanding of IS technology
D. A nonhierarchical structure to ensure that team members can share ideas
An information security manager has been asked to develop a change control process. What is the FIRST thing the information security manager should do?
A. Research best practices
B. Meet with stakeholders
C. Establish change control procedures
D. Identify critical systems
An organization is using a vendor-supplied critical application which has a maximum password length that does not comply with organizational security standards. Which of the following approaches BEST helps mitigate the weakness?
A. Shorten the password validity period.
B. Encourage the use of special characters.
C. Strengthen segregation of duties (SoD).
D. Introduce compensatory controls.
The information classification scheme should:
A. consider possible impact of a security breach.
B. classify personal information in electronic form.
C. be performed by the information security manager.
D. classify systems according to the data processed.
Which of the following choices is MOST likely to ensure that responsibilities are carried out?
A. Signed contracts
B. Severe penalties
C. Assigned accountability
D. Clear policies
Which of the following items determines the acceptable level of residual risk in an organization?
A. Management discretion
B. Regulatory requirements
C. Inherent risk
D. Internal audit findings
It is MOST important that information security architecture be aligned with which of the following?
A. Industry best practices
B. Business goals and objectives
C. Information technology (IT) plans
D. International information security frameworks
Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason for implementing a risk management program?
A. Allows the organization to eliminate risk
B. Is a necessary part of management's due diligence
C. Satisfies audit and regulatory requirements
D. Assists in increasing the return on investment (ROI)
Which of the following is MOST important to achieve proportionality in the protection of enterprise information systems?
A. Asset classification
B. Risk assessment
D. Configuration management
For risk management purposes, the value of a physical asset should be based on:
A. original cost.
B. net cash flow.
C. net present value.
D. replacement cost.
Where should a firewall be placed?
A. On the web server
B. On the intrusion detection system (IDS) server
C. On the screened subnet
D. On the domain boundary
Data owners must provide a safe and secure environment to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of the transaction. This is an example of an information security:
A. baseline.
B. strategy.
C. procedure.
D. policy.
Which of the following is the BEST quantitative indicator of an organization's current risk tolerance?
A. The number of incidents and the subsequent mitigation activities
B. The number, type and layering of deterrent control technologies
C. The extent of risk management requirements in policies and standards
D. The ratio of cost to insurance coverage for business interruption protection
Which of the following tools should a newly hired information security manager review to gain an understanding of how effectively the current set of information security projects is managed?
A. A project database
B. A project portfolio database
C. Policy documents
D. A program management office
Which of the following is the MOST important objective of an information security strategy review?
A. Ensuring that risk is identified and mitigated
B. Ensuring that information security strategy is aligned with organizational goals
C. Maximizing the return on information security investments
D. Ensuring the efficient utilization of information security resources
Management decided that the organization will not achieve compliance with a recently issued set of regulations. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for the decision?
A. The regulations are ambiguous and difficult to interpret.
B. Management has a low level of risk tolerance.
C. The cost of compliance exceeds the cost of possible sanctions.
D. The regulations are inconsistent with the organizational strategy.
Which of the following reasons is the MOST important to develop a strategy before implementing an information security program?
A. To justify program development costs
B. To integrate development activities
C. To gain management support for an information security program
D. To comply with international standards
Why would an organization decide not to take any action on a denial of service (DoS) risk found by the risk assessment team?
A. There are sufficient safeguards in place to prevent this risk from happening.
B. The needed countermeasures are too complicated to deploy.
C. The cost of countermeasures outweighs the value of the asset and potential loss.
D. the likelihood of the risk occurring is unknown.
Which would be one of the BEST metrics an information security manager can employ to effectively evaluate the results of a security program?
A. Number of controls implemented
B. Percent of control objectives accomplished
C. Percent of compliance with the security policy
D. Reduction in the number of reported security incidents
Investments in information security technologies should be based on:
A. vulnerability assessments.
B. value analysis.
C. business climate.
D. audit recommendations.
In controlling information leakage, management should FIRST establish:
A. a data leak prevention program.
B. user awareness training.
C. an information classification process.
D. a network intrusion detection system (IDS).
Which of the following is the BEST indicator that operational risks are effectively managed in an enterprise?
A. A tested business continuity/disaster recovery plan (BCP/DRP)
B. An increase in timely reporting of incidents by employees
C. Extent of risk management education
D. Regular review of risks by senior management
For an organization's information security program to be highly effective, who should have final responsibility for authorizing information system access?
A. Information owner
B. Security manager
C. Chief information officer (CIO)
D. System administrator
In addition to backup data, which of the following is the MOST important to store offsite in the event of a disaster?
A. Copies of critical contracts and service level agreements (SLAs)
B. Copies of the business continuity plan
C. Key software escrow agreements for the purchased systems
D. List of emergency numbers of service providers
What is the PRIMARY focus of the change control process?
A. To ensure that changes are authorized
B. To ensure that changes are applied
C. To ensure that changes are documented
D. To ensure that changes are tested
The MOST effective technical approach to mitigate the risk of confidential information being disclosed in email attachments is to implement:
A. content filtering.
B. data classification.
C. information security awareness.
D. encryption for all attachments.
What is the MAIN drawback of emailing password-protected zip files across the Internet?
A. They all use weak encryption.
B. They are decrypted by the firewall.
C. They may be quarantined by mail filters.
D. They may be corrupted by the receiving mail server.
When recommending a control to protect corporate applications against structured query language (SQL) injection, the information security manager is MOST likely to suggest:
A. hardening of web servers.
B. consolidating multiple sites into a single portal.
C. coding standards and reviewing code.
D. using https in place of http.
What is the MAIN risk when there is no user management representation on the Information Security Steering Committee?
A. Functional requirements are not adequately considered.
B. User training programs may be inadequate.
C. Budgets allocated to business units are not appropriate.
D. Information security plans are not aligned with business requirements.
Risk acceptance is a component of which of the following?
A. Risk assessment
B. Risk treatment
C. Risk evaluation
D. Risk monitoring
The PRIMARY reason for senior management review of information security incidents is to:
A. ensure adequate corrective actions were implemented.
B. demonstrate management commitment to the information security process.
C. evaluate the incident response process for deficiencies.
D. evaluate the ability of the security team.
The value of tangible assets can be BEST determined by which of the following?
A. The market value minus the book value
B. The book value minus the market value
C. Adding the totals of the asset classification
D. A business impact assessment and analysis
While governance, risk and compliance (GRC) can be applied to any area of an organization, it is MOST often focused on which of the following areas?
A. Operations and marketing
B. IT, finance and legal
C. Audit, risk and regulations
D. Information security and risk
The MOST important characteristic of good security policies is that they:
A. state expectations of IT management.
B. state only one general security mandate.
C. are aligned with organizational goals.
D. govern the creation of procedures and guidelines.
Which of the following roles would represent a conflict of interest for an information security manager?
A. Evaluation of third parties requesting connectivity
B. Assessment of the adequacy of disaster recovery plans
C. Final approval of information security policies
D. Monitoring adherence to physical security controls
Which two components PRIMARILY must be assessed in an effective risk analysis?
A. Visibility and duration
B. Likelihood and impact
C. Probability and frequency
D. Financial impact and duration
To be effective, risk management should be applied to:
A. all organizational activities.
B. those elements identified by a risk assessment.
C. any area that exceeds acceptable risk levels.
D. only those areas that have potential impact.
Which of the following is the MOST important information to include in an information security standard?
A. Creation date
B. Author name
C. Initial draft approval date
D. Last review date
An appropriate risk treatment method is:
A. the method that minimizes risk to the greatest extent.
B. based on the organization's risk tolerance.
C. an efficient approach to achieve control objectives.
D. the method that maximizes risk mitigation.
Which of the following would raise security awareness among an organization's employees?
A. Distributing industry statistics about security incidents
B. Monitoring the magnitude of incidents
C. Encouraging employees to behave in a more conscious manner
D. Continually reinforcing the security policy
An enterprise is transferring its IT operations to an offshore location. An information security manager should PRIMARILY focus on:
A. reviewing new laws and regulations.
B. updating operational procedures.
C. validating staff qualifications.
D. conducting a risk assessment.
What is the MAIN objective for developing an information security program?
A. To create the information security policy
B. To maximize system uptime
C. To develop strong controls
D. To implement the strategy
What mechanisms are used to identify deficiencies that would provide attackers with an opportunity to compromise a computer system?
A. Business impact analyses
B. Security gap analyses
C. System performance metrics
D. Incident response processes
Which of the following controls is MOST effective in providing reasonable assurance of physical access compliance to an unmanned server room controlled with biometric devices?
A. Regular review of access control lists
B. Security guard escort of visitors
C. Visitor registry log at the door
D. A biometric coupled with a PIN
A critical device is delivered with a single user and password that is required to be shared for multiple users to access the device. An information security manager has been tasked with ensuring all access to the device is authorized. Which of the following would be the MOST efficient means to accomplish this?
A. Enable access through a separate device that requires adequate authentication
B. Implement manual procedures that require password change after each use
C. Request the vendor to add multiple user IDs
D. Analyze the logs to detect unauthorized access
Which of the following is the MOST important element of information asset classification?
A. Residual risk
B. Separation of duties
C. Potential impact
D. Need to know
What is the PRIMARY factor that should be taken into consideration when designing the technical solution for a disaster recovery site?
A. Services delivery objective
B. Recovery time objective (RTO)
C. Recovery window
D. Maximum tolerable outage (MTO)
Which of the following is the FIRST phase in which security should be addressed in the development cycle of a project?
A. Design
B. Implementation
C. Application security testing
D. Feasibility
Which of the following types of risk is BEST assessed using quantitative risk assessment techniques?
A. Stolen customer data
B. An electrical power outage
C. A defaced web site
D. Loss of the software development team
An organization has decided to implement governance, risk and compliance (GRC) processes into several critical areas of the enterprise. Which of the following objectives is the MAIN one?
A. To reduce governance costs
B. To improve risk management
C. To harmonize security activities
D. To meet or maintain regulatory compliance
What is the BEST method for mitigating against network denial of service (DoS) attacks?
A. Ensure all servers are up-to-date on OS patches
B. Employ packet filtering to drop suspect packets
C. Implement network address translation to make internal addresses nonroutable
D. Implement load balancing for Internet facing devices
While a disaster recovery exercise in the organization's hot site successfully restored all essential services, the test was deemed a failure. Which of the following circumstances would be the MOST likely cause?
A. The maximum tolerable outage (MTO) exceeded the acceptable interruption window (AIW).
B. The recovery plans specified outdated operating system (OS) versions.
C. Some restored systems exceeded service delivery objectives (SDO).
D. Aggregate recovery activities exceeded the acceptable interruption window (AIW).
When implementing regulatory compliance, the PRIMARY controls for defining senior management guidance and intent are:
A. guidelines.
B. standards.
C. policies.
D. procedures.
Who would be in the BEST position to determine the recovery point objective (RPO) for business applications?
A. Business continuity coordinator
B. Chief operations officer (COO)
C. Information security manager
D. Internal audit
Which resource is the most effective in preventing physical access tailgating/piggybacking?
A. Card key door locks
B. Photo identification
C. Awareness training
D. Biometric scanners
Which of the following BEST contributes to the design of data restoration plans?
A. Transaction turnaround time
B. Mean time between failures (MTBF)
C. Service delivery objectives (SDOs)
D. The duration of the data restoration job
Which one of the following types of detection is NECESSARY to mitigate a denial or distributed denial of service (DoS or DDoS) attack?
A. Signature-based detection
B. Deep packet inspection
C. Virus detection
D. Anomaly-based detection
The MOST important reason that statistical anomaly-based intrusion detection systems (stat IDSs) are less commonly used than signature-based IDSs is that stat IDSs:
A. create more overhead than signature-based IDSs.
B. cause false positives from minor changes to system variables.
C. generate false alarms from varying user or system actions.
D. cannot detect new types of attacks.
Which of the following will BEST prevent external security attacks?
A. Static IP addressing
B. Network address translation
C. Background checks for temporary employees
D. Securing and analyzing system access logs
To BEST improve the alignment of the information security objectives in an organization, the chief information security officer (CISO) should:
A. revise the information security program.
B. evaluate a balanced business scorecard.
C. conduct regular user awareness sessions.
D. perform penetration tests.
Who should determine the appropriate classification of accounting ledger data located on a database server and maintained by a database administrator in the IT department?
A. Database administrator (DBA)
B. Finance department management
D. IT department management
The typical requirement for security incidents to be resolved quickly and service restored is:
A. always the best option for an enterprise.
B. often in conflict with effective problem management.
C. the basis for enterprise risk management (ERM) activities.
D. a component of forensics training.
The classification level of an asset must be PRIMARILY based on which of the following choices?
A. Criticality and sensitivity
C. Valuation and replacement cost
D. Threat vector and exposure
Which of the following constitutes the MAIN project activities undertaken in developing an information security program?
A. Controls design and deployment
B. Security organization development
C. Logical and conceptual architecture design
D. Development of risk management objectives
In a forensic investigation, which of the following would be the MOST important factor?
A. Operation of a robust incident management process
B. Identification of areas of responsibility
C. Involvement of law enforcement
D. Expertise of resources
How should an information security manager balance the potentially conflicting requirements of an international organization's security standards with local regulation?
A. Give organization standards preference over local regulations
B. Follow local regulations only
C. Make the organization aware of those standards where local regulations cause conflicts
D. Negotiate a local version of the organization standards
When performing a business impact analysis (BIA), which of the following should calculate the recovery time and cost estimates?
B. Information security manager
C. Business process owners
D. IT management
Control baselines are MOST directly related to the:
A. organization's risk appetite.
B. external threat landscape.
C. effectiveness of mitigation options.
D. vulnerability assessment.
An information security manager mapping a job description to types of data access is MOST likely to adhere to which of the following information security principles?
A. Ethics
B. Proportionality
C. Integration
D. Accountability
What is the BEST means to standardize security configurations in similar devices?
A. Policies
B. Procedures
C. Technical guides
D. Baselines
What is the BEST tool to define minimum requirements for database security settings?
A. Procedures
B. Guidelines
C. Baselines
D. Policies
Which of the following is the MOST cost-effective approach to achieve strategic alignment?
A. Periodically survey management
B. Implement a governance framework
C. Ensure that controls meet objectives
D. Develop an enterprise architecture
An information security manager has been notified that a server that is utilized within the entire organization has been breached. What is the FIRST step to take?
A. Inform management.
B. Notify users.
C. Isolate the server.
D. Verify the information.
The MOST important reason for aligning information security governance with corporate governance is to:
A. maximize the cost-effectiveness of controls.
B. demonstrate that information security understands the requirements.
C. provide operational consistency.
D. minimize the number of regulations required.
What is the BEST method for detecting and monitoring a hacker's activities without exposing information assets to unnecessary risk?
A. Firewalls
B. Bastion hosts
C. Decoy files
D. Screened subnets
The PRIMARY concern of an information security manager documenting a formal data retention policy is:
A. generally accepted industry best practices.
B. business requirements.
C. legislative and regulatory requirements.
D. storage availability.
The MOST effective way to ensure that outsourced service providers comply with the organization's information security policy would be:
A. service level monitoring.
B. penetration testing.
C. periodically auditing.
D. security awareness training.
Which of the following devices should be placed within a DMZ?
A. Router
B. Firewall
C. Mail relay
D. Authentication server
Which of the following design options is the lowest cost approach to achieve authentication and data integrity?
A. Biometrics coupled with strong encryption
B. Challenge response authentication and a secure hash
C. Link encryption and hardware tokens
D. A public key infrastructure (PKI)
What is the MOST appropriate IT incident response management approach for an organization that has outsourced its IT and incident management function?
A. A tested plan and a team to provide oversight
B. An individual to serve as the liaison between the parties
C. Clear notification and reporting channels
D. A periodic audit of the provider's capabilities
Serious security incidents typically lead to renewed focus by management on information security that then usually fades over time. What opportunity should the information security manager seize to BEST utilize this renewed focus?
A. To improve the integration of business and information security processes
B. To increase information security budgets and staffing levels
C. To develop tighter controls and stronger compliance efforts
D. To acquire better supplemental technical security controls
A company recently developed a breakthrough technology. Since this technology could give this company a significant competitive edge, which of the following would FIRST govern how this information is to be protected?
A. Access control policy
B. Data classification policy
C. Encryption standards
D. Acceptable use policy
Which of the following would be a MAJOR consideration for an organization defining its business continuity plan (BCP) or disaster recovery program (DRP)?
A. Setting up a backup site
B. Maintaining redundant systems
C. Aligning with recovery time objectives (RTOs)
D. Data backup frequency
Isolation and containment measures for a compromised computer have been taken and information security management is now investigating. What is the MOST appropriate next step?
A. Run a forensics tool on the machine to gather evidence
B. Reboot the machine to break remote connections
C. Make a copy of the whole system's memory
D. Document current connections and open Transmission Control Protocol/User Datagram Protocol (TCP/UDP) ports
Which of the following components is established during the INITIAL steps of developing a risk management program?
A. Management acceptance and support
B. Information security policies and standards
C. A management committee to provide oversight for the program
D. The context and purpose of the program
The PRIMARY objective of continuous monitoring is to:
A. minimize the magnitude of impact.
B. align the security program with IT goals.
C. identify critical information assets.
D. reduce the number of policy exceptions.
What is a reasonable approach to determine control effectiveness?
A. Determine whether the control is preventive, detective or corrective.
B. Review the control's capability of providing notification of failure.
C. Confirm the control's ability to meet intended objectives.
D. Assess and quantify the control's reliability.
A database was compromised by guessing the password for a shared administrative account and confidential customer information was stolen. The information security manager was able to detect this breach by analyzing which of the following?
A. Invalid logon attempts
B. Write access violations
C. Concurrent logons
D. Firewall logs
What is the MAIN reason for deploying a public key infrastructure (PKI) when implementing an information security program?
A. To ensure the confidentiality of sensitive material
B. To provide a high assurance of identity
C. To allow deployment of the active directory
D. To implement secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption
After a significant security breach has occurred, what is the MOST important item to report to the chief information officer (CIO)?
A. A summary of the security logs that illustrates the sequence of events
B. An analysis of the impact of similar attacks at other organizations
C. A business case for implementing stronger logical access controls
D. The impact of the incident and corrective actions taken
An organization has to comply with recently published industry regulatory requirements—compliance that potentially has high implementation costs. What should the information security manager do FIRST?
A. Implement a security committee.
B. Perform a gap analysis.
C. Implement compensating controls.
D. Demand immediate compliance.
The systems administrator did not immediately notify the security officer about a malicious attack. An information security manager could prevent this situation by:
A. periodically testing the incident response plans.
B. regularly testing the intrusion detection system (IDS).
C. establishing mandatory training of all personnel.
D. periodically reviewing incident response procedures.
The data access requirements for an application should be determined by the:
A. legal department.
B. compliance officer.
C. information security manager.
D. business owner.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate use of gap analysis?
A. Evaluating a business impact analysis (BIA)
B. Developing a balanced business scorecard
C. Demonstrating the relationship between controls
D. Measuring current state vs. desired future state
From an information security perspective, which of the following poses the MOST important impact concern in a homogenous network?
A. Increased uncertainty
B. Single points of failure
C. Cascading risk
D. Aggregated risk
The BEST process for assessing an existing risk level is a(n):
A. impact analysis.
B. security review.
C. vulnerability assessment.
D. threat analysis.
Which of the following will MOST likely reduce the chances of an unauthorized individual gaining access to computing resources by pretending to be an authorized individual needing to have his/her password reset?
A. Performing reviews of password resets
B. Conducting security awareness programs
C. Increasing the frequency of password changes
D. Implementing automatic password syntax checking
Serious security incidents typically lead to renewed focus on information security by management. To BEST utilize this attention, the information security manager should make the case for:
A. improving integration of business and information security processes.
B. increasing information security budgets and staffing levels.
C. developing tighter controls and stronger compliance efforts.
D. acquiring better supplemental technical security controls.
The MOST important factor in ensuring the success of an information security program is effective:
A. communication of information security requirements to all users in the organization.
B. formulation of policies and procedures for information security.
C. alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
D. monitoring compliance with information security policies and procedures.
Which of the following is MOST important in determining whether a disaster recovery test is successful?
A. Only business data files from offsite storage are used
B. IT staff fully recovers the processing infrastructure
C. Critical business processes are duplicated
D. All systems are restored within recovery time objectives (RTOs)
Which of the following is the MOST useful indicator of control effectiveness?
A. The extent to which the control provides defense in depth
B. Whether the control fails open or closed
C. How often the control has failed
D. The extent to which control objectives are achieved
An information security manager's MOST effective efforts to manage the inherent risk related to a third-party service provider will be the result of:
A. limiting organizational exposure.
B. a risk assessment and analysis.
C. strong service level agreements (SLAs).
D. independent audits of third parties.
What is the PRIMARY objective of conducting information security awareness training for all users?
A. To achieve acceptable compliance with the security policy
B. To build a common understanding of information security
C. To change culture to be more conducive to good security
D. To establish communication between management and staff
What is a PRIMARY advantage of performing a risk assessment on a consistent basis?
A. It lowers costs of assessing risk.
B. It provides evidence of attestation.
C. It is a necessary part of third-party audits.
D. It provides trends in the evolving risk profile.
Which of the following is the BEST way to confirm that disaster recovery planning is current?
A. Audits of the business process changes
B. Maintenance of the latest configurations
C. Regular testing of the disaster recovery plan (DRP)
D. Maintenance of the personnel contact list
Which of the following would be MOST appropriate for collecting and preserving evidence?
A. Encrypted hard drives
B. Generic audit software
C. Proven forensic processes
D. Log correlation software
A new regulation for safeguarding information processed by a specific type of transaction has come to the attention of an information security officer. The officer should FIRST:
A. meet with stakeholders to decide how to comply.
B. analyze key risks in the compliance process.
C. assess whether existing controls meet the regulation.
D. update the existing security/privacy policy.
Which of the following will require the MOST effort when supporting an operational information security program?
A. Reviewing and modifying procedures
B. Modifying policies to address changing technologies
C. Writing additional policies to address new regulations
D. Drafting standards to address regional differences
If an organization has a requirement for continuous operations, which of the following approaches would be BEST to test response and recovery?
A. A full interruption test
B. A simulation test
C. A parallel test
D. A structured walk-through
An information security manager must understand the relationship between information security and business operations in order to:
A. support organizational objectives.
B. determine likely areas of noncompliance.
C. assess the possible impacts of compromise.
D. understand the threats to the business.
A risk assessment and business impact analysis (BIA) have been completed for a major proposed purchase and new process for an organization. There is disagreement between the information security manager and the business department manager who will own the process regarding the results and the assigned risk. Which of the following would be the BEST approach of the information security manager?
A. Acceptance of the business manager's decision on the risk to the corporation
B. Acceptance of the information security manager's decision on the risk to the corporation
C. Review of the assessment with executive management for final input
D. A new risk assessment and BIA are needed to resolve the disagreement
Which of the following would represent a violation of the chain of custody when a backup tape has been identified as evidence in a fraud investigation?
A. The tape was removed into the custody of law enforcement investigators.
B. The tape was kept in the tape library pending further analysis.
C. The tape was sealed in a signed envelope and locked in a safe under dual control.
D. The tape was handed over to authorized independent investigators.
Which of the following would be the FIRST step when developing a business case for an information security investment?
A. Defining the objectives
B. Calculating the cost
C. Defining the need
D. Analyzing the cost-effectiveness
An organization has learned of a security breach at another company that utilizes similar technology. The FIRST thing the information security manager should do is:
A. assess the likelihood of incidents from the reported cause.
B. discontinue the use of the vulnerable technology.
C. report to senior management that the organization is not affected.
D. remind staff that no similar security breaches have taken place.
The MOST important factor in planning for the long-term retention of electronically stored business records is to take into account potential changes in:
A. storage capacity and shelf life.
B. regulatory and legal requirements.
C. business strategy and direction.
D. application systems and media.
In a large organization, effective management of security incidents will be MOST dependent on:
A. clear policies detailing incident severity levels.
B. broadly dispersed intrusion detection capabilities.
C. training employees to recognize security incidents.
D. effective communication and reporting processes.
Which of the following situations presents the GREATEST information security risk for an organization with multiple, but small, domestic processing locations?
A. Systems operation guidelines are not enforced
B. Change management procedures are poor
C. Systems development is outsourced
D. Systems capacity management is not performed
When a proposed system change violates an existing security standard, the conflict would be BEST resolved by:
A. calculating the risk.
B. enforcing the security standard.
C. redesigning the system change.
D. implementing mitigating controls.
Which of the following will be MOST important in calculating accurate return on investment (ROI) in information security?
A. Excluding qualitative risks for accuracy in calculated figures
B. Establishing processes to ensure cost reductions
C. Measuring monetary values in a consistent manner
D. Treating security investment as a profit center
Which of the following is MOST important in the development of information security policies?
A. Adopting an established framework
B. Using modular design for easier maintenance
C. Using prevailing industry standards
D. Gathering stakeholder requirements
What is the goal of risk aggregation?
A. To combine homogenous elements to reduce overall risk
B. To influence the organization's risk acceptance methodologies
C. To group individual acceptable risk events for simplified risk reporting
D. To identify significant overall risk from a single threat vector
An online banking institution is concerned that the breach of customer personal information will have a significant financial impact due to the need to notify and compensate customers whose personal information may have been compromised. The institution determines that residual risk will always be too high and decides to:
A. mitigate the impact by purchasing insurance.
B. implement a circuit-level firewall to protect the network.
C. increase the resiliency of security measures in place.
D. implement a real-time intrusion detection system.
During the security review of organizational servers it was found that a file server containing confidential human resources (HR) data was accessible to all user IDs. What is the FIRST step the security manager should perform?
A. Copy sample files as evidence.
B. Remove access privileges to the folder containing the data.
C. Report this situation to the data owner.
D. Train the HR team on properly controlling file permissions.
Which of the following application systems should have the shortest recovery time objective (RTO)?
A. Contractor payroll
B. Change management
C. E-commerce web site
D. Fixed asset system
The PRIMARY reason for classifying information resources according to sensitivity and criticality is to:
A. determine inclusion of the information resource in the information security program.
B. define the appropriate level of access controls.
C. justify the costs of each information resource.
D. determine the overall budget of the information security program.
