Last Attempt CISM Questions

The most important thing to include in security incident escalation procedures is notification criteria. This is because notification criteria define who needs to be informed of an incident, when, and how, depending on the severity, impact, and nature of the incident. Notification criteria help to ensure that the appropriate stakeholders are aware of the incident and can take the necessary actions to respond, mitigate, and recover from it. Notification criteria also help to comply with legal and regulatory requirements for reporting incidents to external parties, such as customers, authorities, or media.

Notification criteria define who needs to be informed of an incident, when, and how, depending on the severity, impact, and nature of the incident. (From CISM Manual or related resources)

References = CISM Review Manual 15th Edition, Chapter 4, Section 4.2.2, page 2121; CISM Review Questions, Answers & Explanations Manual 9th Edition, Question 1, page 1

Inherent risk is the risk that exists before any controls are applied. It is influenced by factors such as the nature, value, sensitivity, and exposure of the information asset. Business criticality is one of the most important factors that affect the inherent risk of an information asset, as it reflects how essential the asset is for the organization’s operations and objectives. The higher the business criticality, the higher the inherent risk. Risk tolerance, NPV, and ROI are not directly related to the inherent risk of an information asset, as they are more relevant for the risk assessment and risk treatment processes. References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition, page 971

Business criticality is the degree to which an asset is essential to the success of the business and the extent to which its loss or compromise could have a significant impact on the business. Business criticality is one of the main factors that help to determine the inherent risk of an asset, as assets that are more critical to the business tend to have a higher inherent risk.

 Replacing key controls with weaker compensating controls may introduce new vulnerabilities or increase the likelihood or impact of existing threats, thus raising the risk levels beyond the acceptable limits defined by the risk appetite and tolerance of the organization. This may expose the organization to unacceptable losses or damages, such as financial, reputational, legal, or operational. Therefore, the information security manager should be most concerned about the potential elevation of risk levels and ensure that the risk owner is aware of the consequences and accountable for the decision.

References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition, Chapter 2: Information Risk Management, Section: Risk Treatment, page 941.

The Information Security Manager's primary responsibility is to ensure that the organization's information assets are adequately protected. In this scenario, there is a conflict between the approved mobile access policy and industry best practices. Developing security standards based on a flawed policy could lead to significant security vulnerabilities.

Why the other options are not the best course of action:

A. Align the standards with the organizational policy: This would perpetuate the misalignment with best practices, potentially leaving the organization exposed to risks.

B. Align the standards with industry best practices: While this is ideal from a security perspective, it directly contradicts the approved policy, which could create operational and compliance issues.

D. Perform a cost-benefit analysis of aligning the standards to policy: A cost-benefit analysis might be useful at some point, but it does not address the fundamental issue of a policy that is not in line with best practices.

Key CISM Principles Reflected:

Alignment with Organizational Objectives: Security standards and policies should support and enable the organization's business objectives.

Risk Management: Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks are essential elements of information security management.

Governance: Effective governance ensures that information security activities are aligned with the organization's strategies and objectives.

In summary: The Information Security Manager should proactively engage senior management to highlight the discrepancy between the approved policy and industry best practices. The goal is to revise the policy to ensure it adequately addresses security risks while supporting the organization's objectives. Once the policy is aligned with best practices, the security standards can be developed accordingly.