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Question 140
A CIO proposes using security metrics that reward teams for closing the largest number of low-risk issues. What continuing control would best preserve the intended outcome?
- Review unintended behaviors caused by incentive-linked targets and adjust thresholds
- Track temporary trusts and privilege exceptions until decommissioned
- Review charter effectiveness after changes in business strategy, ownership, and regulatory footprint
- Reassess asset criticality as product lines, data use and ownership change
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Metrics can change conduct as well as report it.
Incorrect Answers
B:Transitional integration bridges must not become permanent exposure. It may help maintain using enterprise architecture to resolve security integration risk, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns preventing misaligned security performance incentives.
C:Governance authority must evolve with the enterprise it serves. It may help maintain aligning security decision authority to business strategy, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns preventing misaligned security performance incentives.
D:Security design priorities should follow business changes. It may help maintain defining protection priorities before architecture tooling, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns preventing misaligned security performance incentives.
Question 141
A board asks whether a proposed outsourcing arrangement can eliminate its accountability for a critical service's cybersecurity. What is the MOST appropriate first management decision for this situation?
- Assign policy ownership and approval authority within the enterprise governance framework
- Assess defined security governance and management capabilities against an agreed maturity model
- Tailor the chosen security governance framework to enterprise risk, regulation, and maturity
- Keep governance and risk acceptance with the enterprise while contracting delivery obligations
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:A provider may run controls but does not remove board or business accountability.
Incorrect Answers
A:Standards require an accountable decision-maker for exceptions and updates. However, it does not make the decision needed for maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk in this scenario.
B:Tools owned do not measure how reliably processes deliver outcomes. However, it does not make the decision needed for maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk in this scenario.
C:Framework adoption is a means of governing risk, not an end in itself. However, it does not make the decision needed for maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk in this scenario.
Question 142
A board asks whether a proposed outsourcing arrangement can eliminate its accountability for a critical service's cybersecurity. What should the manager arrange during rollout to meet this requirement?
- Compare control intent, scope, assurance evidence, and unaddressed obligations
- Approve terms of reference that define quorum, escalation, voting authority, and representation
- Set contract assurance, reporting, exit, and escalation duties with named internal owners
- Plan independent or internal testing around priority control objectives and stakeholders
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Accountability needs evidence and enforceable oversight rights.
Incorrect Answers
A:The mapping should expose real residual gaps. That could support governing equivalence of external control frameworks, but it does not implement the requested maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
B:A named forum without decision rights does not govern tradeoffs. That could support establishing cross-functional security oversight, but it does not implement the requested maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
D:Evidence should address whether controls manage the stated exposures. That could support connecting control assurance to governance outcomes, but it does not implement the requested maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
Question 143
A board asks whether a proposed outsourcing arrangement can eliminate its accountability for a critical service's cybersecurity. Which test most directly verifies the desired managerial outcome?
- Trace one provider-caused outage to the enterprise decision owner and contracted notification route
- Trace an encryption exception through operational recommendation and business risk approval
- Trace a breached risk tolerance to board awareness and a recorded direction to management
- Verify the acceptance is signed by an authorized owner and reflects enterprise appetite
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:An escalation scenario tests the governance boundary.
Incorrect Answers
B:Separate records show that decisions were not silently delegated. This provides evidence for distinguishing control operation from risk ownership, not proof of maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
C:Escalation evidence shows the governance framework functions. This provides evidence for demonstrating board-level cyber oversight, not proof of maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
D:A budget shortfall alone is not approval of residual exposure. This provides evidence for separating security advice from business risk acceptance, not proof of maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
Question 144
A board asks whether a proposed outsourcing arrangement can eliminate its accountability for a critical service's cybersecurity. After deployment, what ongoing oversight most directly keeps the requirement effective?
- Reassess cross-entity exceptions when corporate structure or shared-service dependencies change
- Review architectural assumptions after major provider or business-process changes
- Reassess the architecture when models, processors, or region deployments change
- Review provider concentration and exit dependencies at each strategic renewal
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Outsourcing risks evolve through vendor and business changes.
Incorrect Answers
A:Shared exposure can outlive the subsidiary decision that created it. It may help maintain resolving subsidiary and enterprise accountability, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
B:Target-state architecture must stay aligned with evolving enterprise dependencies. It may help maintain integrating enterprise architecture into security strategy, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
C:AI service changes can alter hidden information flows. It may help maintain integrating information architecture and data lifecycle governance, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns maintaining enterprise accountability for outsourced security risk.
Question 145
A new payment API processes regulated transactions, but the business sponsor wants a launch decision before assessing its exposure. Which management approach best satisfies the primary requirement?
- Use a risk assessment method that incorporates safety, operational constraints, and evidence from passive sources
- Establish an owner-led information asset inventory and classification process as a risk-assessment foundation
- Complete a business-led information risk assessment before final release authorization
- Escalate independent adverse evidence and revise the residual supplier risk assessment
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:A launch decision needs an explicit view of impact and likelihood against tolerance.
Incorrect Answers
A:The method must not create greater production harm than the threat being studied. However, it does not make the decision needed for assessing material risk before a business launch in this scenario.
B:Unknown data and systems prevent complete exposure assessment. However, it does not make the decision needed for assessing material risk before a business launch in this scenario.
D:A favorable self-attestation must not override validated control failures. However, it does not make the decision needed for assessing material risk before a business launch in this scenario.
Question 146
A new payment API processes regulated transactions, but the business sponsor wants a launch decision before assessing its exposure. Which concrete action would best operationalize the needed approach?
- Identify assets, threats, vulnerabilities, existing controls, and affected business processes with their owners
- Assign business data owners and map processing locations, integrations, and classifications
- Update scenario likelihood and existing defense evidence from relevant threat intelligence
- Define delegated decision limits and escalation criteria for regional risk owners
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A documented scope grounds risk estimates in the actual service.
Incorrect Answers
B:A current map supports targeted controls and impact analysis. That could support using asset ownership to support risk assessment, but it does not implement the requested assessing material risk before a business launch.
C:Evidence-driven estimates support reprioritization. That could support integrating active threat intelligence into risk treatment, but it does not implement the requested assessing material risk before a business launch.
D:Local autonomy needs explicit authority limits. That could support ensuring subsidiary tolerances remain within enterprise appetite, but it does not implement the requested assessing material risk before a business launch.
Question 147
A new payment API processes regulated transactions, but the business sponsor wants a launch decision before assessing its exposure. Which evidence best demonstrates the intended business and security outcome?
- Verify a sample control operates as intended before recognizing its treatment benefit
- Use a tabletop or red-team exercise to test key decision and detection assumptions
- Verify the sponsor acknowledges top residual exposures and signs the appropriate launch risk decision
- Verify the prioritized control set demonstrably reduces the key business loss scenarios
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:A record shows business accountability and informed approval.
Incorrect Answers
A:Operating evidence establishes whether risk was reduced. This provides evidence for distinguishing planned controls from effective controls, not proof of assessing material risk before a business launch.
B:Controlled evidence informs risk estimates without claiming certainty. This provides evidence for evaluating emerging threats under uncertainty, not proof of assessing material risk before a business launch.
D:The review should test treatment coverage, not purchase count. This provides evidence for selecting risk treatments from business scenarios, not proof of assessing material risk before a business launch.
Question 148
A new payment API processes regulated transactions, but the business sponsor wants a launch decision before assessing its exposure. Which recurring management review most directly addresses future drift?
- Review production service quality and residual threat indicators after rollout
- Review scenario taxonomy after emerging incident patterns change impact pathways
- Reassess the service risk after major API dependencies or transaction volumes change
- Escalate missed patch milestones and reassess emerging exploitation evidence
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Exposure can shift after the launch baseline is established.
Incorrect Answers
A:Control effectiveness can shift when usage changes. It may help maintain balancing security response and business impacts, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns assessing material risk before a business launch.
B:Model categories must follow actual enterprise risk. It may help maintain avoiding double counting of scenario consequences, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns assessing material risk before a business launch.
D:Temporary plans need firm review triggers. It may help maintain handling temporary risk within operational constraints, whereas the stated continuing risk concerns assessing material risk before a business launch.
Question 149
A manufacturing plant faces a credible ransomware threat but cannot stop continuous production for invasive scanning. Which decision should the information security manager prioritize?
- Complete a business-led information risk assessment before final release authorization
- Establish an owner-led information asset inventory and classification process as a risk-assessment foundation
- Use a risk assessment method that incorporates safety, operational constraints, and evidence from passive sources
- Escalate the evidence gap as residual third-party risk to the accountable service owner
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:The method must not create greater production harm than the threat being studied.
Incorrect Answers
A:A launch decision needs an explicit view of impact and likelihood against tolerance. However, it does not make the decision needed for assessing risk when testing could interrupt operations in this scenario.
B:Unknown data and systems prevent complete exposure assessment. However, it does not make the decision needed for assessing risk when testing could interrupt operations in this scenario.
D:Questionnaire completion is not proof of subcontractor control. However, it does not make the decision needed for assessing risk when testing could interrupt operations in this scenario.
Question 150
A manufacturing plant faces a credible ransomware threat but cannot stop continuous production for invasive scanning. During implementation, which action most directly executes the necessary response?
- Combine the vulnerability intelligence with asset ownership, internet reachability, and compensating controls
- Use credible worst-case business impact analysis with documented likelihood assumptions
- Calibrate rating criteria using representative incidents and business outcomes
- Coordinate asset and threat analysis with plant engineering, using approved nonintrusive discovery
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Joint analysis can reveal exposure without unsafe active probing.
Incorrect Answers
A:Context turns a technical finding into a business risk. That could support prioritizing vulnerabilities by enterprise exposure, but it does not implement the requested assessing risk when testing could interrupt operations.
B:Scenario analysis captures material tail risk. That could support considering low-frequency catastrophic impact, but it does not implement the requested assessing risk when testing could interrupt operations.
C:Examples reduce inconsistent use of scales. That could support creating consistent enterprise risk criteria, but it does not implement the requested assessing risk when testing could interrupt operations.
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