CRISC® Exam Simulator

The basic concepts related to data extraction, validation, aggregation and analysis are important as KRIs often rely on digital information from diverse sources. The phases which are involved in this are #1 Requirements gathering: A detailed plan and project scope are required for monitoring risks. In the case of a monitoring project, this step should involve process owners, data owners, system custodians and other process stakeholders. #2 Data access: In the data access process, management identifies which data are available and how they can be acquired in a format that can be used for analysis. There are 2 options for data extraction: 1. Extracting data directly from the source systems after system owner approval. 2. Receiving data extracts from the system custodian (IT) after system owner approval. Direct extraction is preferred, especially since this involves management monitoring its controls, instead of auditors/third parties monitoring management's controls. If it is not feasible to get direct access, a data access request form should be submitted to the data owners that details the appropriate data fields to be extracted. The request should specify the method of delivery for the file.#3 Data validation: Data validation ensures that extracted data are ready for analysis. One of its important objectives is to perform tests examining the data quality to ensure data are valid complete and free of errors. This may also involve making data from different sources suitable for comparative analysis. The following concepts should be considered while validating data: 1. Ensure the validity, i.e., data match definitions in the table layout. 2. Ensure that the data are complete. 3. Ensure that extracted data contains only the data requested. 4. Identify missing data, such as gaps in sequence or blank records. 5. Identify and confirm the validity of duplicates. 6. Identify the derived values. 7. Check if the data given is reasonable or not. 8. Identify the relationship between table fields. 8. Record, in a transaction or detail table, that the record has no match in a master table. #4 Data analysis: Analysis of data involves a simple set of steps or a complex combination of commands and other functionality. Data analysis is designed in such a way as to achieve the stated objectives of the project plan. Although this may apply to any monitoring activity, it would be beneficial to consider transferability and scalability. This may include robust documentation, use of software development standards and naming conventions. #5 Reporting and corrective action: According to the requirements of the monitoring objectives and the technology being used, reporting structure and distribution are decided. Reporting procedures indicate to whom outputs from the automated monitoring process are distributed so that they are directed to the right people, in the right format, etc. Similar to the data analysis stage, reporting may also identify areas in which changes to the sensitivity of the reporting parameters or the timing and frequency of the monitoring activity may be required.

Conducting a root cause analysis is the IT business owner's best course of action following an unexpected increase in emergency changes because it helps identify the underlying reasons why the organization experiences an increase in emergency changes. Conducting a root cause analysis helps the IT business owner pinpoint the root cause of the problem, determine what changes should be done, and how to prevent future occurrences. Evaluating the impact to control objectives helps the IT business owner recognize the impact of the increase in emergency changes on control objectives, but it does not directly address the underlying issues. Similarly, reconfiguring the IT infrastructure is not required, as the problem is not with the infrastructure but with the change management process.

An independent review is typically sought to provide an objective assessment of the IT risk management program, ensuring that it aligns with the organization’s overall strategy and objectives. The reviewer can identify areas where the program may not be effectively addressing the organization’s strategic goals or where improvements can be made to better manage IT risks.

Failure modes and effects analysis are used in discovering high-impact risk types. FMEA is one of the tools used within the Six Sigma methodology to design and implement a robust process to: #1 Identify failure modes. #2 Establish a risk priority so that corrective actions can be put in place to address and reduce the risk. #3 Helps in identifying and documenting where in the process the source of the failure impacts the (internal or external) customer. #4 Is used to determine failure modes and assess the risk posed by the process and thus, to the enterprise as a whole.

The root node is the starting node in the decision tree.

Communication channels are paths of communication with stakeholders in a project. The number of communication channels shows the complexity of a project's communication and can be derived through the formula shown below: Total Number of Communication Channels = n (n-1)/2. Where n is the number of stakeholders. Hence, a project having five stakeholders will have ten communication channels. Putting the value of the number of stakeholders in the formula will provide the number of communication channels. Hence, Number of communication channel = (n (n-1)) / 2 = (25 (25-1)) / 2 = (25 x 24) / 2 = 600 / 2 = 300

To assess the residual risk associated with implementing encryption for data at rest, key management must be considered. Key management is an essential part of encryption and involves the generation, exchange, storage, use, and destruction of cryptographic keys. If the keys used to encrypt the sensitive data are not properly managed and protected, it can undermine the effectiveness of encryption and, as a result, the residual risk may not be reduced as expected.

The risk response process is triggered when a risk exceeds the enterprise's risk tolerance level. The acceptable variation relative to the achievement of an objective is termed risk tolerance. In other words, risk tolerance is the acceptable deviation from the level set by the risk appetite and business objectives. Risk tolerance is defined at the enterprise level by the board and clearly communicated to all stakeholders. A process should be in place to review and approve any exceptions to such standards.

Stakeholders must understand how the IT-related risk impacts the overall business.

Because the hardware is not certified by its manufacturer to work without major issues using the OS or the database software, the risk is unknown. An enterprise database is a critical application and no one would approve an unknown risk like this one.

A list of appropriate information security controls in response to the risk scenarios identified during the risk assessment is one of the primary deliverables of a risk assessment exercise. In this case, it is also the best choice because it demonstrates due consideration of the risk as well as suitable controls to address the risk.

Residual risk along with acceptable risk level will provide risk information that is balanced after the application of controls. Management can decide whether to accept the risk or apply more controls based on acceptable risk levels. This will also help to understand the risk appetite of the enterprise because a conservative approach tries to accept risk levels that are low or very low. So this is the primary information that will be useful to management for making risk-related decisions.

A risk register is a document that records and tracks the information and status of the identified risks and their responses. It includes the risk description, category, source, cause, impact, probability, priority, response, owner, action plan, status, etc. A risk register update is a change or modification to the information or status of the risks and their responses in the risk register. It may be triggered by the occurrence or resolution of a risk event, the identification or evaluation of a new or emerging risk, the implementation or completion of a risk response, the monitoring or review of the risk performance, etc. The most important risk register update for senior management to review is avoiding a risk that was previously accepted, which means that the organization has decided to eliminate or withdraw from the risk exposure or activity that may cause the risk, instead of tolerating or retaining the risk as before. This may indicate a significant change in the organization’s risk appetite, strategy, objectives, or environment, and it may have a major impact on the organization’s performance and value. The other options are not the most important risk register updates for senior management to review, because they do not indicate a significant change or impact on the organization’s risk profile or performance.

The lack of adequate controls represents a vulnerability, exposing sensitive information and data to the risk of malicious damage, attack or unauthorized access by hackers. This could result in a loss of sensitive information, financial loss, legal penalties, etc.

The exposure factor represents the impact of the risk over the asset or the percentage of asset lost. For example, if the Asset Value is reduced to two third, the exposure factor value is 0.66. Therefore, when the asset is completely lost, the Exposure Factor is 1.0.

By allowing the BYOD to access the network only via a virtualized desktop client, no data are stored on the device and all the commands entered through the device are executed and stored within the enterprise’s DMZ, network or servers. By using this type of mobile/enterprise architecture, users can be allowed to access the corporate network/data while on a personal device and still be compliant with the enterprise’s acceptable use policy.

The type of risk response that is being audited in this scenario where the project team increased the project schedule to complete the installation of a new material without affecting downstream project activities is mitigation. Mitigation, in risk management, refers to the process of proactively taking action to lessen the probability and impact of identified risks. Increasing the project schedule to complete the installation of the new material without affecting downstream project activities is a mitigation action, as it reduces the probability and impact of the risk.

The recovery time objective (RTO) is a metric that defines the maximum acceptable time frame for restoring a system or service after a disruption. The RTO is determined by the business impact and requirements of the system or service, as well as the risk appetite and tolerance of the organization. The calculation of the RTO is necessary to determine the priority of restoration, which means the order and urgency of recovering the systems or services based on their criticality and dependency. The priority of restoration helps to optimize the use of resources and minimize the downtime and losses during a disaster recovery. The other options are not the correct answers, as they are not the main purpose of calculating the RTO. The time required to restore files is a factor that affects the RTO, but it is not the outcome of the RTO calculation. The point of synchronization is the point in time to which the data must be restored to ensure consistency and accuracy. The point of synchronization is related to the recovery point objective (RPO), not the RTO. The annual loss expectancy (ALE) is a measure of the expected loss per year due to a specific risk or threat. The ALE is calculated by multiplying the single loss expectancy (SLE) by the annualized rate of occurrence (ARO). The ALE is not directly related to the RTO, although it may influence the RTO determination.

Investments in risk management technologies should be based on a value analysis and sound business case.

The monetary value of the server should be based on the cost of its replacement. However, the financial impact on the enterprise may be much broader, based on the function that the server performs for the business and the value it brings to the enterprise.

The risk tolerance level (along with risk appetite) determines what kind of risk response an enterprise selects and it needs to be defined for an enterprise to appropriately address risk.

Monitoring key access control performance indicators is the best way to provide an early warning that network access of terminated employees is not being revoked in accordance with the service level agreement (SLA), as it measures the effectiveness and efficiency of the access control process and its alignment with the SLA objectives and requirements. The SLA is a contract that defines the expectations and responsibilities of the service provider and the service recipient in terms of the quality, availability, and scope of the service. Monitoring key access control performance indicators helps to: - Evaluate the extent to which the access control process has met the SLA targets and standards. - Identify and report any deviations, errors, or breaches in the access control process and its compliance with the SLA. - Recommend and implement corrective actions or improvement measures to address the issues or findings in the access control process. - Communicate and coordinate the monitoring results and recommendations with the relevant stakeholders, such as the service provider, the service recipient, and the senior management.

The application risk profile should be updated when reviewing functional requirements. This will help to identify and assess the potential risks that may arise from the changes to the application, and to plan and implement appropriate risk responses. Updating the application risk profile at this stage will also help to ensure that the changes are aligned with the organization’s objectives, policies, and standards, and that they meet the stakeholders’ expectations and needs. Updating the application risk profile after user acceptance testing, upon release to production, or during backlog scheduling are not the best points to update the risk profile, as they may be too late or too early to capture the relevant risks and their impacts.

A business impact analysis (BIA) is the most helpful tool to management when determining the resources needed to mitigate a risk. A BIA is a process of identifying and evaluating the potential effects of disruptions or incidents on the critical functions and processes of an organization. A BIA helps to estimate the financial, operational, and reputational impacts of risks, as well as the recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives for each function and process. A BIA also helps to prioritize the functions and processes based on their importance and urgency, and to allocate the resources needed to protect, restore, and resume them. A BIA can provide valuable information to management for developing and implementing risk mitigation strategies and plans. The other options are not the most helpful tools to management when determining the resources needed to mitigate a risk, although they may be useful or complementary to the BIA. An internal audit is a process of evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the governance, risk management, and control systems of an organization, but it does not directly estimate the impacts of risks or the resources needed to mitigate them. A heat map is a graphical tool that displays the probability and impact of individual risks in a matrix format, but it does not provide the details of the functions and processes affected by the risks or the resources needed to protect them. A vulnerability report is a document that identifies and assesses the security weaknesses in an information system, but it does not measure the impacts of risks or the resources needed to mitigate them.

The best mitigating control to reduce the risk introduced when conducting penetration tests is to clearly define the project scope. This control helps to ensure that the penetration tests are focused on the specific areas that require testing and that the test activities are not unnecessarily intrusive. It also helps to prevent the testers from causing any potential harm to systems or data that are outside of the testing scope. While performing background checks on the vendor, notifying network administrators before testing, and requiring the vendor to sign a nondisclosure agreement can be useful mitigating controls, they do not address the primary risk of the testing activities themselves. By contrast, clearly defining the project scope is the best mitigating control as it directly addresses the risk introduced by the penetration tests.

A risk response action plan is a document that outlines the specific tasks, resources, timelines, and deliverables for the risk responses, which are the actions or strategies that are taken to address the risks that may affect the organization’s objectives, performance, or value creation. The most useful tool when measuring the progress of a risk response action plan is an up-to-date risk register, which is a document that records and tracks the significant risks that the organization faces, and the responses and actions that are taken to address them. An up-to-date risk register is the most useful tool because it provides a comprehensive and consistent view of the risk landscape, and the status and performance of the risk responses and actions. An up-to-date risk register is also the most useful tool because it enables the monitoring and evaluation of the risk response action plan, and the identification and communication of any issues or gaps that need to be resolved or improved. The other options are not the most useful tools, but rather possible metrics or indicators that may be used to measure the progress of a risk response action plan.

Teaming agreements often come under sharing risk response, as they involve joint ventures to realize an opportunity that an organization would not be able to seize otherwise. A sharing response is where two or more entities share a positive risk. Teaming agreements are good examples of sharing the reward that comes from the risk of the opportunity.

The most important input when developing risk scenarios is the business objectives, as they provide the context and scope for the risk identification and analysis process. Risk scenarios are hypothetical situations that describe the possible causes, events, and consequences of a risk. Risk scenarios help to understand and communicate the nature and impact of the risk, and to support the risk assessment and response planning. The business objectives are the goals and targets that the organization wants to achieve through its processes, functions, and projects. The business objectives define the expected outcomes and performance of the organization, and the criteria for measuring and evaluating the success or failure of the organization. The business objectives also reflect the organization’s vision, mission, values, and strategy, and the needs and expectations of the stakeholders. The other options are not the most important inputs when developing risk scenarios, although they may be useful or relevant information. Key performance indicators are metrics that measure and monitor the progress and achievement of the business objectives, but they do not provide the context or scope for the risk scenarios. The organization’s risk framework is the set of principles, policies, and processes that guide and support the risk management activities across the organization, but it does not provide the context or scope for the risk scenarios. Risk appetite is the level of risk that the organization is willing to accept or avoid in pursuit of its business objectives, but it does not provide the context or scope for the risk scenarios.

The primary reason for determining the security boundary is to establish what systems and components are included in the risk assessment.

Shadow systems are IT systems, solutions, devices, or technologies used within an organization without the knowledge and approval of the corporate IT department. They are often the result of employees trying to address specific functionality gaps in the organization’s official systems, such as the ERP system. However, shadow systems can pose significant risks to the organization, such as: - Data security and privacy breaches, as shadow systems may not comply with the organization’s security policies and standards, or may expose sensitive data to unauthorized parties. - Data quality and integrity issues, as shadow systems may not synchronize or integrate with the organization’s official systems, or may create data inconsistencies or redundancies. - Compliance and regulatory violations, as shadow systems may not adhere to the organization’s legal or contractual obligations, or may create audit or reporting challenges. Cost and resource inefficiencies, as shadow systems may duplicate or conflict with the organization’s official systems, or may consume more IT resources than necessary. The best way to reduce the risk associated with shadow systems is to implement an enterprise architecture (EA), which is a comprehensive framework that defines the structure, processes, principles, and standards of the organization’s IT environment. By implementing an EA, the organization can: - Align the IT systems with the organization’s goals and strategy, and ensure that they support the business needs and requirements. - Establish a governance structure and process for IT decision making, and ensure that all IT systems are approved, monitored, and controlled by the IT department. - Enhance the communication and collaboration between the IT department and the business units, and ensure that the IT systems meet the expectations and preferences of the end users. - Optimize the performance and efficiency of the IT systems, and ensure that they are scalable, flexible, and interoperable.

The greatest concern associated with redundant data in an organization's inventory system is data inconsistency. Redundant data can cause inconsistencies in the organization's inventory system, which can lead to errors in decision-making, such as over- or under-ordering products. Redundant data in an inventory system can lead to data inconsistency, which is the greatest concern among the options provided. This is because if the same piece of data is stored in multiple places, any updates or changes might not be reflected everywhere, leading to discrepancies in the data. This could lead to errors in reporting, decision-making, and overall operations. Other options like unnecessary data storage usage, poor access control, and unnecessary costs of program changes, while also concerns, do not pose as immediate and significant an operational risk as data inconsistency.

Communicating risk assessment results to data owners enables them to understand the risks associated with their data assets, and design or implement appropriate controls that address these risks. This helps to ensure that data is safeguarded and protected against potential loss or unauthorized access. Industry benchmarking of controls addresses the comparison of performance against external benchmarks and is not directly tied to communication of risk assessment results to data owners. Prioritization of response efforts may be an outcome of communicating risk assessment results but does not describe the primary reason. Classification of information assets is an independent process of determining what categories or tiers data assets belong to, and is not necessarily directly related to the communication of risk assessment results to data owners.

The primary reason to establish the root cause of an IT security incident is to avoid recurrence of the incident. By identifying and addressing the underlying cause of the incident, the organization can prevent or reduce the likelihood of similar incidents in the future. This can also help to improve the security posture and resilience of the organization. The other options are not the primary reason, but they may be secondary or tertiary reasons. Preparing a report for senior management is an important step in communicating the incident and its impact, but it does not address the root cause. Assigning responsibility and accountability for the incident is a way to ensure that the appropriate actions are taken to remediate the incident and prevent recurrence, but it is not the reason to establish the root cause. Updating the risk register is a part of the risk management process, but it does not necessarily prevent recurrence of the incident.

The risk monitoring and controlling is responsible for identifying new risks, determining the status of risks that may have changed, and determining which risks may be outdated in the project.

Risk reporting is the only activity listed that is typically associated with risk monitoring.

Risk cannot be removed completely from the enterprise; it can only be reduced to a level that an organization is willing to accept. Risk management programs are hence designed to accomplish the task of reducing risks.

The most effective way to increase the likelihood that risk responses will be implemented is to assign ownership. When specific individuals or teams are assigned ownership of risk responses, they become directly responsible for ensuring that the necessary actions are taken to mitigate or manage the identified risks. This accountability helps drive action and increases the chances that the planned risk responses will be implemented in a timely and effective manner.

The lack of due diligence for the recommended cloud vendor should be of greatest concern to the risk practitioner, because it exposes the organization to potential risks and issues related to the security, reliability, performance, and compliance of the cloud service provider. Due diligence is a process of conducting a thorough investigation and evaluation of a potential vendor or partner before entering into a contractual relationship. Due diligence helps to verify the vendor’s credentials, capabilities, reputation, and track record, and to identify any red flags or gaps that may affect the quality or suitability of the service. Cloud computing is a model of delivering IT services over the internet, where the service provider owns and manages the IT infrastructure, platforms, or applications, and the customer pays only for the resources or functions they use. Cloud computing can offer cost savings, scalability, and flexibility for the business, but it also introduces new risks and challenges, such as data privacy, security breaches, vendor lock-in, service outages, or regulatory compliance. Therefore, performing due diligence for the recommended cloud vendor is essential to ensure that the organization’s expectations and requirements are met, and that the risks and issues are identified and addressed. The business introducing new SaaS solutions without IT approval, the maintenance of IT infrastructure being outsourced to an IaaS provider, and the architecture responsibilities not being clearly defined are all possible concerns for the risk practitioner, but they are not the greatest concern, as they can be mitigated or resolved with appropriate controls, policies, or agreements.

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

Failure to report a successful intrusion is a serious concern to the risk practitioner and could - in some instances - be interpreted as abetting.

The cost management plan is an input to the quantitative risk analysis process because of the cost management control it provides. The cost management plan sets how the costs of a project are managed during the project's lifecycle. It defines the format and principles by which the project costs are measured, reported, and controlled. The cost management plan identifies the person responsible for managing costs, those who have the authority to approve changes to the project or its budget, and how cost performance is quantitatively calculated and reported upon.

IT and business misalignment is the risk that the IT objectives, plans, and activities are not aligned with the business goals, needs, and expectations. This can result in wasted resources, missed opportunities, poor performance, and customer dissatisfaction. One of the best ways to mitigate this risk is to involve the business process owner in IT strategy. The business process owner is the person who has the authority and responsibility for a specific business process and its outcomes. By involving the business process owner in IT strategy, the organization can ensure that the IT initiatives and solutions are relevant, effective, and beneficial for the business process and its stakeholders. The business process owner can also provide valuable input, feedback, and support for the IT strategy and its implementation. The other options are not the best ways to mitigate the risk associated with IT and business misalignment, although they may be helpful and complementary. Establishing business key performance indicators (KPIs) is a technique to measure and monitor the achievement of business objectives and outcomes. However, KPIs do not necessarily ensure that the IT strategy is aligned with the business strategy or that the IT activities support the business activities. Introducing an established framework for IT architecture is a method to design and implement the IT infrastructure, systems, and services in a consistent and coherent manner. However, an IT architecture framework does not guarantee that the IT architecture is aligned with the business architecture or that the IT capabilities meet the business requirements. Establishing key risk indicators (KRIs) is a tool to monitor and communicate the level of exposure to a given risk or the potential impact of a risk. However, KRIs do not directly address the risk of IT and business misalignment or the actions needed to align them.

Controls are the mechanisms or procedures that ensure the security, reliability, and quality of an IT system or process. Controls can be preventive, detective, or corrective, and can be implemented at various levels, such as physical, logical, administrative, or technical. Controls should be defined during the design phase of system development because it is more cost-effective to determine controls in the early design phase. The design phase is the stage where the system requirements are translated into a detailed technical plan, which includes the system architecture, database structure, user interface, and system components. The design phase also defines the system objectives, goals, and performance criteria. Defining controls during the design phase can help ensure that the controls are aligned with the system requirements and objectives, and that they are integrated into the system design from the start. Defining controls during the design phase can also help avoid or reduce the costs and risks associated with implementing controls later in the development or operation phases, such as rework, delays, errors, failures, or breaches.

Enhance and Exploit are two risk responses suitable for positive risk events, while Share is associated with the transfer of risk to another party. When a negative risk event or a threat occurs, the appropriate response is to use the Accept risk response. Accept is a passive response to negative risk events where the risk is observed without taking any action other than to monitor it. The organization chooses this response when the potential cost of the action exceeds the consequences of the risk. The goal of acceptance is to minimize or eliminate the cost of any further action that could be taken, and it should be documented in the risk management plan, including management's agreement to assume the associated risks.

In contrast to quantitative risk assessment, qualitative risk assessment does not attribute dollar values. Rather, it evaluates risk levels based on the probability and impact of a risk. These assessments rely on expert opinions to determine these values. Probability assesses the likelihood of specific risks occurring, both independently and in combination. Risks manifest when a threat exploits vulnerability. Scaling determines the probability of risk occurrence, often using word values like Low, Medium, or High, or assigning percentages such as 10% to Low and 90% to High. Impact gauges the magnitude of identified risks, expressing loss potential without assigning dollar values; instead, words like Low, Medium, or High are used, with relative values such as 10 for Low, 50 for Medium, and 100 for High. The risk level is calculated as the product of Probability and Impact (Risk level = Probability * Impact).

Acceptance of a risk is an alternative to be considered in the risk response process.

A disaster recovery test is a simulation of a disaster scenario that evaluates the effectiveness and readiness of the disaster recovery plan. The main purpose of a disaster recovery test is to ensure that the organization can resume its normal operations as quickly as possible after a disaster, with minimal or no data loss. Therefore, the most important objective of a disaster recovery test from a business perspective is to verify that all critical data can be recovered within the RTOs, which are the maximum acceptable time frames for restoring the data and systems after a disaster. If the RTOs are not met, the organization may face significant financial, operational, and reputational losses. The other options are not the most important objectives of a disaster recovery test, although they may be beneficial outcomes. Gaining assurance that the organization can recover from a disaster is a subjective and qualitative goal, while recovering data within RTOs is a measurable and quantitative goal. Discovering errors in the disaster recovery process is a valuable result of a disaster recovery test, but it is not the primary objective. The objective is to correct the errors and improve the process, not just to find them. Testing all business critical systems is a necessary step in a disaster recovery test, but it is not the ultimate goal. The goal is to ensure that the systems can be restored and function properly within the RTOs.

The first step in selecting a risk response after a penetration test reveals several vulnerabilities in a web-facing application is to assess the level of risk associated with the vulnerabilities, as it involves evaluating the likelihood and impact of the vulnerabilities being exploited, and comparing them with the risk tolerance and appetite of the organization. Correcting the vulnerabilities, developing a risk response action plan, and communicating the vulnerabilities are possible steps in selecting a risk response, but they are not the first step, as they require the prior knowledge of the risk level and the optimal risk response.

Residual risk is the risk that remains after the implementation of risk responses. An effective risk management program should aim to reduce the residual risk to a level that is acceptable by the enterprise, in alignment with its risk appetite and tolerance. The reduction of residual risk indicates that the risk responses are appropriate and effective, and that the enterprise is achieving its objectives while managing its risks. The other options are not necessarily indicative of an effective risk management program, as they may depend on other factors, such as the reporting culture, the audit scope and methodology, and the nature and source of the inherent risk.

The best way to facilitate the development of effective IT risk scenarios is to utilize a cross-functional team. A cross-functional team is a group of people with different skills, expertise, and perspectives who work together to achieve a common goal. A cross-functional team can help to create realistic, comprehensive, and relevant IT risk scenarios by bringing diverse knowledge, experience, and insights from various domains and functions. A cross-functional team can also help to identify and address the interdependencies, interactions, and impacts of IT risks across the organization. The other options are not the best ways to facilitate the development of effective IT risk scenarios, although they may be useful or necessary depending on the context and nature of the IT risks. Participation by IT subject matter experts is important, but it is not sufficient, as IT risks may affect or be affected by non-IT factors and stakeholders. Integration of contingency planning is a part of the risk response process, which follows the risk scenario development process, but it is not the same as creating the risk scenarios. Validation by senior management is a quality assurance step that ensures the accuracy and completeness of the risk scenarios, but it is not the same as facilitating the development of the risk scenarios.

Event nodes represent the possible uncertain outcomes of a risky decision, with at least two nodes to illustrate the positive and negative range of events. Probabilities are always attached to the branches of event nodes.

RBACs tie individuals to specific roles. The use of roles, hierarchies and constraints to organize privileges reduces the security administration effort when individuals change positions. RBACs are also known as nondiscretionary access controls.

Embedding risk management into business activities is of the utmost importance to ensure that risk management practices are effective at all levels within the organization. This ensures that all business activities and processes are designed to consider and manage risk proactively. Communicating risk awareness materials regularly highlights the importance of risk awareness; however, it may not ensure effective risk management practices. Establishing key risk indicators (KRIs) to monitor risk management processes is essential but alone may not enforce the effective implementation of risk management practices. Ensuring that business activities minimize inherent risk aims at reducing risks within business activities but does not guarantee effective risk management integration into an organization's makeup.

Control effectiveness requires a process to verify that the control process worked as intended and meets the intended control objectives. Hence the test result of the intended objective helps in verifying the effectiveness of control.

By focusing on the high-priority of risk events through qualitative risk analysis you can improve the project's performance. Qualitative analysis is the definition of risk factors in terms of high/medium/low or a numeric scale (1 to 10). Hence it determines the nature of risk on a relative scale. Some of the qualitative methods of risk analysis are #1 Scenario analysis - This is a forward-looking process that can reflect the risk for a given point in time. #2 Risk Control Self Assessment (RCSA) - RCSA is used by enterprises (like banks) for the identification and evaluation of operational risk exposure. It is a logical first step and assumes that business owners and managers are closest to the issues and have the most expertise as to the source of the risk. RCSA is a constructive process in compelling business owners to contemplate, and then explain, the issues at hand with the added benefit of increasing their accountability.

The input that is useful in identifying risks and provides a quantitative assessment of the likely cost to complete the scheduled activities is activity cost estimates. This input provides information on the expected cost of each activity in the project plan, which can help identify potential risks associated with budget overruns, labor shortages, resource constraints, or other factors that may impact the cost of completing the project. While the cost management plan provides guidance on how project costs will be managed, it does not provide detailed cost estimates for individual activities. Similarly, activity duration estimates can help identify scheduling risks, but they do not provide information on the likely cost of activities, which is what is being sought in this case. The risk management plan provides guidance on how risks will be identified, assessed, and monitored, but it does not provide specific information on activity costs or scheduling.

Strategic risks are those risks which have the potential outcome of not fulfilling on strategic objectives of the organization as planned. Since the strategic objective will shape and impact the entire organization, the risk of not meeting that objective can impose a great threat on the organization. Strategic risks can be broken down into external and internal risks: External risks are those circumstances from outside the enterprise which will have a potentially damaging or helpful impact on the enterprise. These risks include sudden changes in the economy, industry, or regulatory conditions. Some of the external risks are predictable while others are not. For instance, a recession may be predictable and the enterprise may be able to hedge against the dangers economically; but the total market failure may not be as predictable and can be much more devastating. Internal risks usually focus on the image or reputation of the enterprise. some of the risks that are involved in this are public communication, trust, and strategic agreement from stakeholders and customers.

Single sign-on (SSO) is a method of authentication that allows a user to access multiple systems or applications with a single set of credentials. SSO can improve user convenience and productivity, but it also introduces some security risks. The greatest concern as a result of a single sign-on implementation is that unauthorized access may be gained to multiple systems, as this can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data and resources stored on those systems. If an attacker obtains the SSO credentials of a user, either by phishing, malware, or other means, they can Laccess all the systems or applications that the user is authorized for, without any additional authentication or verification. This can expose the organization to various threats, such as data leakage, theft, loss, corruption, manipulation, or misuse.

A threat is an act of coercion wherein an act is proposed to elicit a negative response. Threats are real, while vulnerabilities are a possibility. They can result in risks from external sources and can become imminent over time or can diminish.

Legal obligations are one of the principal external requirements to which compliance should be monitored.

The most effective way to resolve the situation and define a comprehensive risk treatment plan would be to perform a root cause analysis. A root cause analysis is a method of identifying and addressing the underlying factors or causes that led to the occurrence of a problem or incident. In this case, the problem or incident is the malware infection that affected the organization. By performing a root cause analysis, the organization can determine how and why the malware was able to infect the systems, what vulnerabilities or weaknesses were exploited, what controls or processes failed or were missing, and what actions or decisions contributed to the situation. A root cause analysis can help the organization to prevent or reduce the recurrence of similar incidents, as well as to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the risk management process. A root cause analysis can also help the organization to define a comprehensive risk treatment plan, which is a set of actions or measures that are taken to modify the risk, such as reducing, avoiding, transferring, or accepting the risk. Based on the findings and recommendations of the root cause analysis, the organization can select and implement the most appropriate risk treatment option for the malware risk, as well as for any other related or emerging risks. The risk treatment plan should also include the roles and responsibilities, resources, timelines, and performance indicators for the risk treatment actions. The other options are not the most effective ways to resolve the situation and define a comprehensive risk treatment plan, as they are either less thorough or less relevant than a root cause analysis. A gap analysis is a method of comparing the current state and the desired state of a process, system, or organization, and identifying the gaps or differences between them. A gap analysis can help the organization to identify the areas of improvement or enhancement, as well as the opportunities or challenges for achieving the desired state. However, a gap analysis is not the most effective way to resolve the situation and define a comprehensive risk treatment plan, as it does not address the causes or consequences of the malware infection, or the actions or measures to mitigate the risk. An impact assessment is a method of estimating the potential effects or consequences of a change, decision, or action on a process, system, or organization. An impact assessment can help the organization to evaluate the benefits and costs, as well as the risks and opportunities, of a proposed or implemented change, decision, or action. However, an impact assessment is not the most effective way to resolve the situation and define a comprehensive risk treatment plan, as it does not investigate the origin or nature of the malware infection, or the solutions or alternatives to manage the risk. A vulnerability assessment is a method of identifying and analyzing the weaknesses or flaws in a process, system, or organization that can be exploited by threats to cause harm or loss. A vulnerability assessment can help the organization to discover and prioritize the vulnerabilities, as well as to recommend and implement the controls or measures to reduce or eliminate them. However, a vulnerability assessment is not the most effective way to resolve the situation and define a comprehensive risk treatment plan, as it does not consider the root causes or impacts of the malware infection, or the risk treatment options or plans to address the risk.

Data inconsistency is the greatest concern associated with redundant data in an organization’s inventory system, as it can lead to inaccurate, unreliable, and conflicting information that can affect the decision-making and performance of the organization. Redundant data can occur when the same data is stored in multiple locations or formats, or when data is not updated or synchronized properly. Data inconsistency can cause errors, confusion, and inefficiency in the inventory management process, and can also increase the risk of fraud, theft, or loss of inventory.

Login statistics alone do not provide adequate forensic information. Logs need to contain the commands executed (transactions invoked) to know what activities were conducted once someone successfully logs in because that may be someone who successfully hacked into the network.

The option that best enables detection of ethical violations committed by employees is the whistleblower program. While transaction log monitoring and access control attestation are valuable for detecting unauthorized access or suspicious activities within systems, they may not directly address ethical violations. Periodic job rotation can mitigate certain risks such as fraud, but it does not specifically focus on detecting ethical violations. In contrast, a whistleblower program encourages employees to report unethical behavior or violations of company policies, fostering a culture of accountability and transparency. It serves as an essential mechanism for identifying and addressing ethical breaches, providing a direct line of communication for employees to report concerns without fear of retaliation.

The best way to assess the effectiveness of an access management process is to reconcile a list of accounts belonging to terminated employees. This will ensure that the access rights of the employees who have left the organization are revoked in a timely and accurate manner, and that there are no orphaned or unauthorized accounts that could pose a security risk. Comparing the actual process with the documented process, reviewing access logs for user activity, and reviewing for compliance with acceptable use policy are also useful methods, but they are not as direct and conclusive as reconciling a list of accounts belonging to terminated employees.

The greatest benefit of analyzing logs collected from different systems is to detect developing threats earlier, because it helps to identify and correlate the patterns, trends, and anomalies that may indicate a potential attack or compromise. Log analysis is the process of examining and interpreting the log data generated by various systems, such as firewalls, servers, routers, and applications. Log analysis can provide valuable insights into the activities and events that occur on the systems, and can enable the timely detection and response to the emerging threats. The other options are not the greatest benefits of analyzing logs, as they are less proactive or less strategic than detecting developing threats earlier. Maintaining a record of incidents is a benefit of logging, but not of analyzing logs, as it involves storing and preserving the log data for future reference. Facilitating forensic investigations is a benefit of analyzing logs, but it is a reactive and tactical activity that occurs after an incident has happened. Identifying security violations is a benefit of analyzing logs, but it is a specific and operational activity that focuses on the compliance and enforcement of the security policies and standards.

It can be challenging to obtain an accurate figure on the frequency of a threat occurring.

The risk practitioner’s best course of action after identifying risk scenarios related to noncompliance with new industry regulations is to escalate to senior management, as they have the authority and responsibility to decide on the appropriate risk response and allocate the necessary resources. Transferring the risk, implementing monitoring controls, and recalculating the risk are possible risk responses, but they require senior management approval and direction.

The appropriate response to the risk is decided by the risk itself, the company's attitude and appetite of risk, and the threat and opportunity combination of the risk.

Updating the risk register to include outcomes from a risk assessment is the greatest benefit because it enables the organization to prioritize and respond to the most significant risks in a timely manner. The risk register is a tool that records and tracks the current status of risks, their likelihood, impact, and response strategies. By updating the risk register with the results of a risk assessment, the organization can ensure that the risk information is accurate, relevant, and actionable. Maintaining evidence of compliance with risk policy, validating the organization’s risk appetite, and helping to mitigate internal and external risk factors are all possible benefits of updating the risk register, but they are not the greatest benefit, as they do not directly support risk-based decision making.

After migrating a key financial system to a new provider, it was discovered that a developer could gain access to the production environment. This indicates that there is a risk of unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of sensitive data, such as financial records, transactions, reports, etc. A control that could mitigate this risk is to remove the developer’s access to the production environment. This means that the developer would not be able to alter the source code or configuration of the financial system without proper authorization or approval. The other options are not the best ways to mitigate the risk in this situation. They are either irrelevant or less effective than removing the developer’s access.

Cyber risk insurance is a type of insurance policy that provides coverage against losses and damages caused by cyber incidents such as data breaches, hacking, and other cyber attacks. When an organization decides to purchase cyber risk insurance, it transfers the risk of financial loss due to a cyber incident to the insurance company. In the scenario described in the question, the organization allowed its cyber risk insurance to lapse while seeking a new insurance provider. This means that the organization is currently not covered by any cyber risk insurance policy and is therefore exposed to financial losses due to cyber incidents. The risk practitioner should report to management that the risk has been accepted. Accepting risk means that the organization is aware of the potential consequences of the risk and has decided not to take any action to mitigate, transfer, or avoid it. The other options are not correct because they do not reflect the current situation of the organization. The organization has not transferred the risk to another party, as it has no cyber risk insurance policy in place. The organization has not mitigated the risk, as it has not implemented any controls or measures to reduce the likelihood or impact of the risk. The organization has not avoided the risk, as it has not eliminated the source or cause of the risk or changed its activities to prevent the risk from occurring.

Conducting a follow-up review is correct because it is the only option that ensures that the corrective action was taken.

Cost of controls is the amount of money or resources that an organization is willing to spend to implement and maintain risk responses. Cost of controls is one of the factors that influences the risk appetite of an organization, as it reflects the trade-off between the benefits and costs of risk responses. Cost of controls helps to determine the optimal level of risk that an organization can accept in pursuit of its objectives, and to align the risk responses with the organization’s strategy, goals, and culture.

The control environment is the set of standards, processes, and structures that provide the basis for carrying out internal control across the organization. The control environment is most effective when the controls perform as intended, meaning that they achieve their objectives, mitigate the risks, and comply with the policies and regulations. The other options are desirable attributes of the controls, but they do not necessarily indicate the effectiveness of the control environment.

The low probability and low-impact risks should be added to a watchlist for future monitoring.

The person who should be accountable for resolving the situation where a root cause analysis indicates a major service disruption due to a lack of competency of newly hired IT system administrators is the chief information officer (CIO). The CIO is the senior executive who is responsible for the overall management and governance of the IT function within the organization, including the IT strategy, objectives, policies, processes, and resources. The CIO is also accountable for the performance and value of the IT services and systems, and for ensuring that they meet the needs and expectations of the business and its stakeholders. The CIO should be accountable for resolving the situation, because it involves a major IT service disruption that could affect the organization’s operations and reputation, and because it is related to the IT staff competency and capability, which are under the CIO’s authority and responsibility. The other options are not as accountable as the CIO, although they may have some roles or involvement in the situation. The HR training director, the business process owner, and the HR recruitment manager are not directly responsible for the IT function or the IT service delivery, and they may not have the authority or the expertise to resolve the situation.

Biometric access control systems are not infallible. When tuning the solution for a high-security data center, the sensitivity level should be adjusted to give preference either to an FRR (type I error rate) in which the system will be more prone to falsely reject access to a valid user than falsely granting access to an invalid user. In a very sensitive system, it may be desirable to minimize the number of false accepts - the number of unauthorized people allowed access. To do this, the system is tuned to be more sensitive, which causes the false rejects to increase - the number of authorized people not allowed access.

The most effective way for a large and diversified organization to minimize risk associated with unauthorized software on company devices is to scan end points for applications not included in the asset inventory. An asset inventory is a document that records and tracks all the hardware and software assets that are owned, used, or managed by the organization, such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, servers, applications, etc. An asset inventory helps to identify and classify the assets based on their type, model, location, owner, status, etc. An asset inventory also helps to monitor and control the assets, such as enforcing security policies, applying patches and updates, detecting and resolving issues, etc. Scanning end points for applications not included in the asset inventory helps to minimize the risk of unauthorized software, because it helps to discover and remove any software that is not approved, authorized, or licensed by the organization, and that may pose security, legal, or operational risks, such as malware, spyware, pirated software, etc. The other options are not as effective as scanning end points for applications not included in the asset inventory, although they may provide some protection or compliance for the software assets. Prohibiting the use of cloud-based virtual desktop software, conducting frequent reviews of software licenses, and performing frequent internal audits of enterprise IT infrastructure are all examples of preventive or detective controls, which may help to prevent or deter the installation or use of unauthorized software, or to verify or validate the software assets, but they do not necessarily discover or remove the unauthorized software.

With a centralized IT organizational structure, all of the decisions are made by one group for the entire enterprise.

The most concerning aspect for a risk practitioner is the lack of ownership assigned to audit findings. Unassigned ownership indicates a lack of accountability and responsibility for addressing identified risks, potentially leading to inaction and unresolved vulnerabilities.

Profitability operational risks focus on the financial risks which encompass providing a quality product that is cost-effective in production. It ensures that the provision of a quality product is not overshadowed by the production costs of that product.

A review of the enterprise's strategic plan is the first step in designing effective IS controls that would fit the enterprise's long-term plans.

The business significance of the information is the most important criterion when developing a response to an attack that would compromise data, as it determines the impact and severity of the attack on the organization’s objectives and performance. The business significance of the information helps to: - Assess the value and sensitivity of the data that is compromised or at risk of compromise. - Evaluate the potential losses or damages that the organization may incur due to the data compromise. - Prioritize the data recovery and restoration activities based on the criticality and urgency of the data. - Communicate and coordinate the data breach response and notification with the relevant stakeholders, such as the data owners, the customers, the regulators, and the media. - Enhance the data protection and security measures to prevent or mitigate future data compromise incidents.

Annual loss expectancy (ALE) is a method to assign a monetary value to risk by multiplying the probability of a risk event by the potential loss associated with that event. ALE can be used to compare the costs and benefits of different risk mitigation options and to determine the optimal level of investment in risk management. Business impact analysis (BIA) is a process to identify and evaluate the potential effects of a disruption on the critical functions and processes of an organization. BIA can help to forecast the impacts of a risk event, but it does not assign a monetary value to the risk itself. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a technique to compare the costs and benefits of a project, decision, or action. CBA can help to evaluate the feasibility and profitability of a risk mitigation option, but it does not assign a monetary value to the risk itself. Inherent vulnerabilities are the weaknesses or flaws in a system, process, or asset that expose it to potential threats. Inherent vulnerabilities can increase the likelihood or impact of a risk event, but they do not assign a monetary value to the risk itself.

Methodology illustrates the process and formulates the basis to align expectations and the execution of the assessment. This also provides a picture of what is required of all parties involved in the assessment.

The steps involved in calculating the risk priority number are as follows: Identify potential failure effects: Identify potential causes. Establish links between each identified potential cause Identify potential failure modes. Assess severity, occurrence and detection. Perform score assessments by using a scale of 1 -10 (low to high rating) to score these assessments. Compute the RPN for a particular failure mode as Severity multiplied by occurrence and detection. RPN = Severity * Occurrence * Detection. Hence, RPN = 4 * 5 * 6 = 120

The cost of the project is not an indicator of risk urgency. The effect of the risk on the overall cost of the project may be considered, but it is not the best answer.

A CMM contains the essential elements of effective processes for one or more disciplines. It also describes an evolutionary improvement path from ad hoc, immature processes to disciplined, mature processes with improved quality and effectiveness.

When the project team needs training to be able to complete the project work it is a cost of conformance to quality. The cost of conformance to quality defines the cost of training, proper resources, and the costs the project must spend to ascertain the expected levels of quality the customer expects from the project. It is the capital used up throughout the project to avoid failures. It consists of two types of costs: Prevention costs: It is measured to build a quality product. It includes costs in training, document processing, equipment, and time to do it right. Appraisal costs: It is measured to assess the quality. It includes testing, destructive testing loss, and inspections.

Threats and vulnerabilities change over time and KRI maintenance ensures that KRIs continue to effectively capture these changes. The risk environment is highly dynamic as the enterprise's internal and external environments are constantly changing. Therefore, the set of KRIs needs to be changed over time, so that they can capture the changes in threat and vulnerability.

The best choice for diverting a hacker away from critical files and alerting security of the hacker's presence are honeypots, often referred to as decoy files.

A risk assessment should be conducted to clarify the risk whenever the company's policies cannot be followed. The solutions should only be implemented if the related risk is formally accepted by the business.

The best way to protect company sensitive information from being exposed when an organization allows employee use of social media accounts for work purposes is to require employees to sign nondisclosure agreements. Nondisclosure agreements are legal contracts that prohibit the employees from disclosing or sharing the company sensitive information with unauthorized parties, such as competitors, media, or regulators. Nondisclosure agreements also specify the scope, duration, and conditions of the nondisclosure obligation, and the penalties or remedies for breaching the agreement. Requiring employees to sign nondisclosure agreements is the best way to protect company sensitive information, as it helps to prevent or deter the employees from exposing or leaking the company sensitive information on social media, and to hold the employees accountable and liable for their actions. Requiring employees to sign nondisclosure agreements also helps to comply with the legal and regulatory requirements for data protection and privacy. Educating employees on what needs to be kept confidential, implementing a data loss prevention (DLP) solution, and taking punitive action against employees who expose confidential data are also useful ways, but they are not as effective as requiring employees to sign nondisclosure agreements, as they are either dependent on the employees’ awareness or behavior, or reactive or corrective measures, rather than proactive or preventive measures.

Changes deployed to production are those that affect the functionality, performance, or security of the system in a way that is visible or accessible to the end users. These changes can introduce new risks or vulnerabilities, such as errors, bugs, compatibility issues, or unauthorized access. Therefore, it is important to monitor the risk associated with these changes and measure how often they cause incidents in production. One metric that can be used to monitor this risk is the percentage of changes that cause incidents in production. This metric indicates how effective the change management process is and how well the organization can prevent or mitigate potential problems caused by changes. A high percentage of incidents indicates a high level of risk and a need for improvement in the change management process.

Administrative control is one of the objectives of internal control and is concerned with ensuring efficiency and compliance with management policies.

The risk practitioner’s best recommendation is to consider providing additional system resources to this job, as this would help to reduce the likelihood and impact of the risk of delaying financial reporting. Providing additional system resources, such as memory, CPU, disk space, or bandwidth, can improve the performance and efficiency of the application and the scheduled job. This can also help to avoid potential errors, failures, or interruptions that could affect the quality and timeliness of the financial data and reporting. The other options are not the best recommendations for this situation. Implementing database activity and capacity monitoring is a good practice to identify and analyze the root causes of performance issues, but it does not directly address the risk of delaying financial reporting. Ensuring the business is aware of the risk is an important step to communicate and escalate the risk, but it does not provide a solution or mitigation strategy. Ensuring the enterprise has a process to detect such situations is a preventive measure to avoid or minimize the occurrence of the risk, but it does not eliminate or reduce the risk.

A change in the risk profile would be the most important information to communicate to stakeholders after an annual risk assessment is completed, as it indicates how the risk landscape of the organization has changed over time, and how it affects the achievement of the business goals and objectives. A decrease in threats, an increase in reported vulnerabilities, and an increase in identified risk scenarios are also important information, but they are not the most important, as they are specific aspects of the risk profile, and do not provide a holistic view of the risk exposure and appetite of the organization.

A risk register is a tool that records and tracks the identified risks, their causes, impacts, likelihood, responses, and owners. The greatest concern when maintaining a risk register is that significant changes in risk factors are excluded. Risk factors are the internal and external variables that influence the occurrence and impact of risks. Risk factors can change over time due to changes in the business environment, the IT landscape, the threat landscape, or the regulatory requirements. If the risk register does not reflect the significant changes in risk factors, it may not provide an accurate and current view of the enterprise’s risk profile and may not support effective risk management decisions and actions. The other options are not as concerning as the exclusion of significant changes in risk factors, as they involve different aspects of the risk register:

Following are the tasks that are involved in articulating risk: 1) Communicate risk analysis results. 2) Report risk management activities and the state of compliance. 3) Interpret independent risk assessment findings. 4) Identify business opportunities.

Due to the reason that risk is constantly changing, it is being evaluated annually or when there is significant change. This gives best alternative as it takes into consideration a reasonable time frame of one year, and meanwhile it also addresses significant changes (if any).

The most important factor for successful incident response is the timeliness of attack recognition. Incident response is the process of detecting, analyzing, containing, eradicating, recovering, and reporting on security incidents that could affect the organization’s IT systems or data. The timeliness of attack recognition is the speed and accuracy with which the organization can identify and confirm that an attack has occurred or is in progress. The timeliness of attack recognition is crucial for successful incident response, as it affects the ability and effectiveness of the organization to respond to and mitigate the attack, and to minimize the damage and impact of the attack. The other options are not as important as the timeliness of attack recognition, although they may also contribute to or influence the incident response. The quantity of data logged by the attack control tools, the ability to trace the source of the attack, and the blocking of the attack route immediately are all factors that could help or hinder the incident response, but they are not the most important factor for successful incident response.

The various tools & techniques used in the identify risk process are as follows: 1) Documentation reviews. 2) Information gathering technique. 3) Checklist analysis. 4) Assumption analysis. 5) Diagramming techniques. 6) SWOT analysis. 7) Expert judgment.

Organizations create different security plans to address different scenarios. Many of the security plans are common to most organizations. The most used security plans found in many organizations are 1) a Business continuity plan, 2) a Disaster recovery plan Backup plan, and 3) an Incident response plan.

Social engineering is a technique that involves manipulating or deceiving people into performing actions or divulging information that may compromise the security of an organization or its data. Entry into an organization’s secured physical premises is a form of physical access that allows an unauthorized individual to access, steal, or damage the organization’s assets, such as equipment, documents, or systems. The best way to prevent future occurrences of social engineering entry into an organization’s secured physical premises is to conduct security awareness training, which is an educational program that aims to equip the organization’s employees with the knowledge and skills they need to protect the organization’s data and sensitive information from cyber threats, such as hacking, phishing, or other breaches. Security awareness training is the best way because it helps the employees to recognize and resist the common and emerging social engineering techniques, such as tailgating, impersonation, or pretexting, that may be used by the attackers to gain physical access to the organization’s premises. Security awareness training is also the best way because it fosters a culture of security and responsibility among the employees, and encourages them to follow the best practices and policies for physical security, such as locking the doors, verifying the identity of visitors, or reporting any suspicious activities or incidents. The other options are not the best way, but rather possible measures or controls that may supplement or enhance the security awareness training.

The probability of achieving time and cost estimates is an update that is produced from the Quantitative risk analysis process. In Qualitative risk analysis probability of occurrence of a specific risk is identified but not of achieving time and cost estimates.

The potential scenario that presents the greatest risk to an organization when implementing a new database technology is that data may not be recoverable due to system failures. Data recovery is the process of restoring or retrieving data that has been lost, corrupted, or damaged due to system failures, such as hardware malfunctions, software errors, power outages, or natural disasters. Data recovery is essential for the continuity and integrity of the organization’s operations and information, as data is one of the most valuable and critical assets of the organization. Data recovery is also important for the compliance and accountability of the organization, as data may be subject to legal or regulatory requirements, such as retention, backup, or audit. Data recovery may be challenging or impossible when implementing a new database technology, because the new technology may not be compatible or interoperable with the existing systems, applications, or backups, or because the new technology may not have adequate or tested recovery mechanisms or procedures. Data recovery may also be costly or time-consuming when implementing a new database technology, because the new technology may require additional or specialized resources, tools, or expertise, or because the new technology may involve large or complex data sets or structures. The other options are not as risky as data recovery, although they may also pose some difficulties or limitations for the new database technology implementation. The organization may not have a sufficient number of skilled resources, application and data migration cost for backups may exceed budget, and the database system may not be scalable in the future are all factors that could affect the feasibility and sustainability of the new database technology, but they do not directly affect the continuity and integrity of the organization’s operations and information.

The most fundamental evaluation criterion for the selection of security technology is its ability to reduce risk.

If the costs of specific controls or countermeasures (control overhead) exceed the benefits of mitigating a given risk the enterprise may choose to accept the risk rather than incur the cost of mitigation. This is done according to the principle of proportionality described in Generally Accepted Security Systems Principles (GASSP) and Generally Accepted Information Security Principles (GAISP).

The broad array of information and the major types of IT risk information that should be communicated are as follows: 1) Expectations from risk management: They include risk strategy, policies, procedures, awareness training, uninterrupted reinforcement of principles, etc. This essential communication drives all subsequent efforts on risk management and sets the overall expectations from risk management. 2) Current risk management capability: This allows monitoring of the status of the risk management engine in the enterprise. It is a key indicator for effective risk management and has predictive value for how well the enterprise is managing risk and reducing exposure. 3) Status of IT risk: This describes the actual status of IT risk including information on the risk profile of the enterprise, Key risk indicators (KRIs) to support management reporting on risk, event-loss data, the root cause of loss events and options to mitigate risk.

Risk evaluation should take into account the potential size and likelihood of a loss.

A risk trigger is a warning sign or condition that a risk event is about to happen. Here the warning temperature is 450 degrees Fahrenheit, therefore it is referred to as a risk trigger.

The term "sustainable" in relation to control or monitoring tools refers to the ability of the tool to adapt and continue functioning effectively as new elements are added to the environment. A sustainable control or monitoring tool is one that can adapt to changing circumstances while maintaining its effectiveness and achieving its intended purpose. As new risks, threats, or technical innovations emerge, the sustainable control or monitoring tool can adapt and continue to provide reliable protection or monitoring. It is important for controls and monitoring tools to be sustainable to ensure that they provide long-term value and protection to the organization.

The principles of access controls focus on availability, integrity, and confidentiality, as loss or danger is directly related to these three: 1) Loss of confidentiality: Someone sees a password or a company's secret formula, this is referred to as loss of confidentiality. 2) Loss of integrity: An e-mail message is modified in transit, a virus infects a file, or someone makes unauthorized changes to a Web site is referred to as loss of integrity. 3) Loss of availability: An e-mail server is down and no one has e-mail access, or a file server is down so data files aren't available comes under loss of availability.

The primary objective for any enterprise is to protect its mission-critical information based on a risk assessment.

Business owners should be notified, even when some of the information may not be available. Business owners are responsible for responding to new risk.

The Risk Owner for each risk should be the person who has the most influence over its outcome. Selecting the risk owner thus usually involves considering the source of risk and identifying the person who is best placed to understand and implement what needs to be done. They are also responsible for responding to the event and reporting on the risk status.

The best time to identify the risk associated with a major project to determine a mitigation plan is the project initiation phase. The project initiation phase is the first phase of the project management process, where the project is defined, authorized, and planned. The project initiation phase includes the activities of developing the project charter, identifying the stakeholders, and defining the scope and objectives of the project. The project initiation phase is the best time to identify the risk associated with the project, as it provides the opportunity to understand the project context, requirements, and expectations, and to establish the risk management framework, process, and plan. By identifying the risk early in the project, the mitigation plan can be integrated with the project plan, and the resources, budget, and schedule can be allocated accordingly. The other options are not as optimal as the project initiation phase, as they are related to the execution, closing, or planning of the project, not the definition or authorization of the project.

Risk appetite is the amount of risk a company or other entity is willing to accept in pursuit of its mission. This is the responsibility of the board to decide the risk appetite of an enterprise. When considering the risk appetite levels for the enterprise, the following two major factors should be taken into account: 1) The enterprise's objective capacity to absorb loss, e.g., financial loss, reputation damage, and 2) The culture towards risk taking-cautious or aggressive. In other words, the amount of loss the enterprise wants to accept in pursuit of its objective fulfilment.

The plan risk response project management process aims to reduce the threats to the project objectives and to increase opportunities. It follows the qualitative risk analysis process and performs the quantitative risk analysis process. The plan risk response process includes the risk response owner taking the job for each agreed-to and funded risk response. This process addresses the risks by their priorities, schedules the project management plan as required, and inserts resources and activities into the budget. The inputs to the plan risk response process are as follows: Risk register and Risk management plan.

The strongest evidence to support a risk response decision is a memo indicating risk acceptance. A memo is a formal and written document that can clearly communicate the rationale, criteria, and approval of the risk acceptance decision. Verbal majority acceptance of risk by committee, list of compensating controls, and IT audit follow-up responses are weaker evidence, as they may not be documented, verified, or aligned with the risk response decision.

The Communications Management Plan defines, regarding risk management, who will be available to share information on risks and responses throughout the project. The Communications Management Plan aims to define the communication necessities for the project and how the information will be circulated. The Communications Management Plan sets the communication structure for the project. This structure guides communication throughout the project's life and is updated as communication needs change. The Communication Management Plan identifies and defines the roles of persons concerned with the project. It includes a matrix known as the communication matrix to map the communication requirements of the project

Periodically reviewing big data strategies is the best option to minimize the risk of inaccurate data, because it allows the organization to assess the quality, validity, and reliability of the data sources and the analytics methods. It also enables the organization to identify and address any gaps, errors, or inconsistencies in the data and the results. By reviewing the big data strategies, the organization can ensure that the data analytics are aligned with the business objectives and the risk appetite. Establishing an intellectual property agreement is not relevant to the risk of inaccurate data, as it is a legal measure to protect the ownership and use of the data, not its quality or accuracy. Evaluating each of the data sources for vulnerabilities is a good practice, but it is not sufficient to minimize the risk of inaccurate data, as it only focuses on the security aspect of the data, not the validity or reliability of the data itself. Benchmarking to industry best practice is a useful way to compare the performance and results of the data analytics, but it does not directly address the risk of inaccurate data, as it assumes that the data and the methods are already valid and reliable.

The best way to support risk-based decisions by senior management would be to map findings to objectives, because this would help them understand how the identified risks affect the achievement of the organization’s goals and priorities. Mapping findings to objectives would also help senior management evaluate the trade-offs between different risk responses and allocate resources accordingly. By linking risks to objectives, the risk practitioner can communicate the value and impact of risk management in a clear and relevant way.

The project management plan that will define who will be available to share information on the project risks is the Communication Management Plan. One of the primary purposes of the Communications Management Plan in a project is to define what information will be communicated, who the target audience is, when and how often the information will be conveyed, and who will be responsible for providing the information. The Communication Management Plan specifies the project stakeholders, including project team members, sponsors, customers, vendors, partners, and other stakeholders, who will be involved in sharing communication. The Resource Management Plan outlines how the team's physical resources, such as equipment, hardware, software, and facilities, will be acquired, allocated, and utilized in the project. The Risk Management Plan specifies how project risks will be managed through the risk management process. The Stakeholder Management Strategy outlines how stakeholders' expectations will be addressed, their engagement in the project, and how their involvement in the project will be monitored and controlled.

The most likely effect on the associated risk when the effectiveness of a control has decreased is that the residual risk changes. Residual risk is the risk that remains after the implementation of risk responses or controls. If the control becomes less effective, the residual risk will increase, as the risk exposure and impact will be higher than expected. The risk impact, the risk classification, and the inherent risk are not likely to change when the effectiveness of a control has decreased, as they are more related to the nature and characteristics of the risk, rather than the control performance.