CISM Exam Dumps - Isaca Certification Questions and Answers

A balanced scorecard is a tool that can be used to demonstrate the added value of an information security program by measuring and reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) and key risk indicators (KRIs) aligned with strategic objectives. Security baselines, a gap analysis and a SWOT analysis are all useful for assessing and improving security posture, but they do not necessarily show how security contributes to business value.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a method of comparing the costs and benefits of different alternatives for achieving a desired outcome. CBA can help information security managers to choose the best controls to mitigate risk to acceptable levels by providing a rational and objective basis for decision making. CBA can also help information security managers to justify their choices to senior management, stakeholders, and auditors by demonstrating the value and return on investment of the selected controls. CBA can also help information security managers to prioritize and allocate resources for implementing and maintaining the controls12.

CBA involves the following steps12:

Identify the objectives and scope of the analysis

Identify the alternatives and options for achieving the objectives

Identify and quantify the costs and benefits of each alternative

Compare the costs and benefits of each alternative using a common metric or criteria

Select the alternative that maximizes the net benefit or minimizes the net cost

Perform a sensitivity analysis to test the robustness and validity of the results

Document and communicate the results and recommendations

CBA is mainly driven by the information security manager’s decision, but it can also take into account other factors such as best practices, control frameworks, and regulatory requirements. However, these factors are not the primary drivers of CBA, as they may not always reflect the specific needs and context of the organization. Best practices are general guidelines or recommendations that may not suit every situation or environment. Control frameworks are standardized models or methodologies that may not cover all aspects or dimensions of information security. Regulatory requirements are mandatory rules or obligations that may not address all risks or threats faced by the organization. Therefore, CBA is the best method to choose the most appropriate and effective controls to mitigate risk to acceptable levels, as it considers the costs and benefits of each control in relation to the organization’s objectives, resources, and environment12. References = CISM Domain 2: Information Risk Management (IRM) [2022 update], Five Key Considerations When Developing Information Security Risk Treatment Plans

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation: Employee accountability is the degree to which employees are responsible for their actions and outcomes related to information security. It reflects the extent to which employees understand their roles and responsibilities, follow the policies and procedures, report incidents and breaches, and comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Embedding security responsibilities into job descriptions helps to clarify the expectations and obligations of employees, as well as the consequences of non-compliance or negligence. It also helps to align the security objectives with the business goals and strategies, and to foster a culture of security awareness and responsibility.

= A business continuity plan (BCP) is the plan that should be invoked by an organization in an effort to remain operational during a disaster. A disaster is a sudden, unexpected, or disruptive event that causes significant damage, loss, or interruption to the organization’s normal operations, assets, or resources. Examples of disasters are natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, or fires, or human-made disasters, such as cyberattacks, sabotage, or terrorism. A BCP is a document that describes the procedures, strategies, and actions that the organization will take to ensure the continuity of its critical business functions, processes, and services in the event of a disaster. A BCP also defines the roles and responsibilities of the staff, management, and other stakeholders involved in the business continuity management, and the resources, tools, and systems that will support the business continuity activities. A BCP helps the organization to:

Minimize the impact and duration of the disaster on the organization’s operations, assets, and reputation.

Restore the essential functions and services as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Protect the health, safety, and welfare of the staff, customers, and partners.

Meet the legal, regulatory, contractual, and ethical obligations of the organization.

Learn from the disaster and improve the business continuity capabilities and readiness of the organization.

References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition, Chapter 3: Information Security Program Development and Management, Section: Business Continuity Plan (BCP), page 1771; CISM Review Questions, Answers & Explanations Manual, 10th Edition, Question 83, page 772.

Prevention of authorized access is the greatest threat posed by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on a public-facing web server because it prevents legitimate users or customers from accessing the web services or resources, causing disruption, dissatisfaction, and potential loss of revenue or reputation. Execution of unauthorized commands is not a threat posed by a DDoS attack, but rather by a remote code execution (RCE) attack. Defacement of website content is not a threat posed by a DDoS attack, but rather by a web application attack. Unauthorized access to resources is not a threat posed by a DDoS attack, but rather by a brute force attack or an authentication bypass attack. References: https://www.isaca.org/resources/isaca-journal/issues/2017/volume-6/the-value-of-penetration-testing https://www.isaca.org/resources/isaca-journal/issues/2016/volume-5/security-scanning-versus-penetration-testing

 The most important thing to include in the outsourcing agreement for disaster recovery activities is the recovery time objectives (RTOs). RTOs are the maximum acceptable time frames within which the critical business processes and information systems must be restored after a disaster or disruption. RTOs are based on the business impact analysis (BIA) and the risk assessment, and they reflect the business continuity requirements and expectations of the organization. By including the RTOs in the outsourcing agreement, the organization can ensure that the service provider is aware of and committed to meeting the agreed service levels and minimizing the downtime and losses in the event of a disaster. The other options are not as important as the RTOs, although they may be relevant and useful to include in the outsourcing agreement depending on the scope and nature of the disaster recovery services. References = CISM Review Manual 15th Edition, page 2471; CISM Review Questions, Answers & Explanations Database - 12 Month Subscription, Question ID: 1033

Verified Answer: According to the CISM Review Manual, 15th Edition, Chapter 3, Section 3.2.1.3, "The appropriate risk treatment option is decided by the chief information security officer (CISO) or the designated risk owner."1

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation: The CISO is the senior executive who is responsible for overseeing and managing the information security program of an organization. The CISO has the authority and expertise to assess the risks, determine the risk appetite and tolerance levels, and select the most suitable risk treatment options for each risk. The CISO also has the accountability and responsibility for implementing, monitoring, and reporting on the risk treatment activities.

The lack of audit rights prevents the organization from verifying the security posture and compliance of the provider, representing a major governance and assurance gap.

“Right to audit clauses ensure that organizations retain oversight and can verify the security controls and compliance of their service providers.”

— CISM Review Manual 15th Edition, Chapter 3: Outsourced Services, Section: Third-Party Governance*

Control inadequacy can be fixed; lack of oversight cannot be tolerated.

An email digital signature will verify to recipient the integrity of an email message because it ensures that the message has not been altered or tampered with during transit, and confirms that the message originated from the sender and not an imposter. An email digital signature will not protect the confidentiality of an email message because it does not encrypt or hide the message content from unauthorized parties. An email digital signature will not automatically correct unauthorized modification of an email message because it does not change or restore the message content if it has been altered or tampered with. An email digital signature will not prevent unauthorized modification of an email message because it does not block or stop any attempts to alter or tamper with the message content. References: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/secure-messages-by-using-a-digital-signature-549ca2f1-a68f-4366-85fa-b3f4b5856fc6 https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/digital-signature

The primary reason to regularly update business continuity and disaster recovery documents is to ensure that the plans and procedures are aligned with the current business needs and objectives, and that they can effectively support the availability of business operations in the event of a disaster. Updating the documents also helps to enforce security policy requirements, maintain business asset inventories, and ensure audit and compliance requirements are met, but these are secondary benefits.

References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition eBook1, Chapter 9: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, Section: Business Continuity Planning, Subsection: Business Continuity Plan Maintenance, Page 378.

This outcome indicates that the employees are more aware of the signs and techniques of social engineering and are able to report them to the appropriate authorities. This also helps to prevent successful attacks and reduce the impact of potential breaches.

A security maturity assessment evaluates not only current vulnerabilities but also governance structures, risk management practices, incident response, and ongoing improvement processes. It provides a holistic and strategic view of the security posture.

“Maturity assessments provide a comprehensive evaluation of an organization’s security controls and their alignment with business objectives.”

— CISM Review Manual 15th Edition, Chapter 1: Information Security Governance, Section: Maturity Models*

Other methods like penetration tests or vulnerability assessments offer snapshots of technical weaknesses, but they lack strategic depth.

The next thing that the information security manager should do after identifying a large volume of old data that appears to be unused is to consult the record retention policy. The record retention policy is a document that defines the types, formats, and retention periods of data that the organization needs to keep for legal, regulatory, operational, or historical purposes. By consulting the record retention policy, the information security manager can determine if the old data is still required to be stored, archived, or disposed of, and how to do so in a secure and compliant manner.

The best way for an information security manager to improve the effectiveness of an organization’s information security program is to collaborate with business and IT functions in determining controls. Collaboration is a key factor for ensuring that the information security program is aligned with the organization’s business objectives, risk appetite, and security strategy, and that it supports the business processes and activities. Collaboration also helps to gain the buy-in, involvement, and ownership of the business and IT functions, who are the primary stakeholders and users of the information security program. Collaboration also facilitates the communication, coordination, and integration of the information security program across the organization, and enables the information security manager to understand the needs, expectations, and challenges of the business and IT functions, and to propose the most appropriate and effective security controls and solutions.

Focusing on addressing conflicts between security and performance (A) is a possible way to improve the effectiveness of an information security program, but not the best one. Security and performance are often competing or conflicting goals, as security controls may introduce overhead, complexity, or delays that affect the efficiency, usability, or availability of the systems or processes. Addressing these conflicts may help to optimize the balance and trade-off between security and performance, and to enhance the user satisfaction and acceptance of the security controls. However, focusing on addressing conflicts between security and performance does not necessarily improve the alignment, integration, or communication of the information security program with the business and IT functions, nor does it ensure the involvement or ownership of the stakeholders.

Including information security requirements in the change control process © is also a possible way to improve the effectiveness of an information security program, but not the best one. The change control process is a process that manages the initiation, approval, implementation, and review of changes to the systems or processes, such as enhancements, updates, or fixes. Including information security requirements in the change control process may help to ensure that the changes do not introduce new or increased security risks or impacts, and that they comply with the security policies, standards, and procedures. However, including information security requirements in the change control process does not necessarily improve the collaboration, communication, or coordination of the information security program with the business and IT functions, nor does it ensure the buy-in or involvement of the stakeholders.

Obtaining assistance from IT to implement automated security controls (D) is also a possible way to improve the effectiveness of an information security program, but not the best one. Automated security controls are security controls that are implemented by using software, hardware, or other technologies, such as encryption, firewalls, or antivirus, to perform security functions or tasks without human intervention. Obtaining assistance from IT to implement automated security controls may help to improve the efficiency, consistency, or reliability of the security controls, and to reduce the human errors, negligence, or malicious actions. However, obtaining assistance from IT to implement automated security controls does not necessarily improve the collaboration, communication, or integration of the information security program with the business and IT functions, nor does it ensure the ownership or involvement of the stakeholders.

References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition, Chapter 1: Information Security Governance, Section: Information Security Strategy Development, Subsection: Collaboration, page 24-251

Data backups are recoverable from an offsite location is the most important thing to verify when testing an incident response plan for recovery from a ransomware attack, as it ensures that the organization can restore its data and resume its operations without paying the ransom or losing critical information. Data backups should be performed regularly, stored securely, and tested for integrity and availability. (From CISM Review Manual 15th Edition)