CISM Exam Dumps - Certified Information Security Manager

Analyzing how security policies and practices are integrated into business processes (B) provides the clearest view of governance effectiveness. CISM defines governance as the alignment of security with business objectives, supported by defined roles, accountability, and decision-making structures. BIAs (A) and risk analyses (C) provide valuable inputs but do not directly assess governance maturity. Interviews (D) can supplement understanding but are subjective without observing real integration. By evaluating whether security is embedded in procurement, development, operations, and decision workflows, a new security manager can determine whether governance is formalized, consistently applied, and supported by management.

The best way to reduce the risk of disruption from an emergency system change is to confirm rollback plans are in place. According to the CISM Review Manual, having an effective rollback (or backout) plan ensures that if the emergency change causes unexpected issues, the organization can quickly revert to a known, stable state. This minimizes downtime and impact to business operations. Approval and communication are important, but only a rollback plan directly addresses risk reduction during unexpected disruptions.

Business impact analysis (BIA) is the process that provides the output of recovery time objectives (RTOs), which are the maximum acceptable time frames for restoring business functions or processes after a disruption. Business continuity plan (BCP) is the document that describes the strategies and procedures for ensuring the continuity of critical business functions or processes in the event of a disruption. Disaster recovery plan (DRP) is the document that describes the technical steps and resources for restoring IT systems and data in the event of a disruption. Service level agreement (SLA) is the document that defines the expectations and obligations between a service provider and a service consumer, such as availability, performance, and security. References: https://www.isaca.org/resources/isaca-journal/issues/2018/volume-1/business-impact-analysis-bia-and-disaster-recovery-planning-drp https://www.isaca.org/resources/isaca-journal/issues/2017/volume-6/service-level-agreements-in-the-cloud

Performing comprehensive risk assessments (B) throughout the life of a third-party contract is the most critical activity because risk posture changes over time due to evolving threats, business changes, or control degradation. CISM emphasizes that third-party risk is not static and must be continuously assessed to ensure ongoing alignment with risk appetite. Disaster recovery testing (A) and SLA updates (C) are important but limited in scope. Financial reviews (D) focus on cost rather than security risk. Periodic risk assessments enable timely identification of new risks and ensure appropriate mitigation or escalation.

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

Penetration testing simulates real-world attacks to identify any remaining exploitable vulnerabilities after controls are implemented. It validates that mitigation has been successful from an attacker’s perspective.

“Penetration testing is essential to verify the effectiveness of remediation efforts and ensure vulnerabilities can no longer be exploited.”

— CISM Review Manual 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Risk Management, Section: Security Testing and Evaluation*

Vulnerability assessments and audits are valuable, but pen testing provides practical assurance.

 Unannounced testing is the most accurate way to assess the effectiveness of controls, as it simulates a real-world scenario and does not allow the staff to prepare or modify their behavior in advance. Mature change management processes, senior management support, and well-defined security policies are all important factors for establishing and maintaining a strong security posture, but they do not directly measure the performance of controls. References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition, page 149. CISM Questions, Answers & Explanations Database, question ID 1003.