ISC2 CC Practice Exam 3 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A company's critical database must be recovered within 4 hours after a disaster, and they can tolerate losing up to 1 hour of data. During a disaster, after the systems are restored, it takes an additional 30 minutes to verify data integrity and resume normal operations. Which metric is represented by the 4-hour requirement?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Recovery Time Objective (RTO). Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the maximum acceptable time to restore systems and data after a disaster.

Answer

Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD)

Answer

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

Answer

Work Recovery Time (WRT)

Question 2

A financial services company is conducting a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) for its online banking platform. Which THREE of the following are correctly defined metrics used in BIA?

Accepted Answer

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) – the maximum amount of time to restore a business function after a disruption.. In BIA, Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the maximum time allowed to recover systems after a disaster, Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) is the total time a business function can be unavailable before causing irreparable harm, and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the maximum acceptable data loss measured in time. All three are correctly defined BIA metrics. Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contractual term, not a BIA metric. Annualized Loss Expectancy (ALE) is a risk assessment metric, not specifically part of BIA.

Answer

Service Level Agreement (SLA) – the contractual uptime percentage guaranteed to customers.

Answer

Annualized Loss Expectancy (ALE) – the expected monetary loss per year from a risk.

Question 3

A hospital uses role-based access control (RBAC) for its electronic health records. Nurses can view patient records; doctors can view and edit; administrators can only view administrative data. Recently, a nurse was able to edit a patient's record, which should only be allowed for doctors. The investigation finds that the nurse's role was incorrectly assigned a 'doctor' role due to a misconfiguration. To prevent recurrence, the access control system should be reviewed. Which is the best long-term solution?

Accepted Answer

Conduct quarterly role reviews and recertification. The root cause is a role misconfiguration, and the best long-term solution is to implement a process of periodic role reviews and recertification. This ensures that role assignments are regularly audited and validated against current job responsibilities, preventing role creep and unauthorized privilege accumulation. In RBAC, the principle of least privilege is maintained through ongoing governance, not through a one-time fix.

Answer

Implement mandatory access control (MAC) with security labels

Answer

Remove the nurse's ability to edit records

Answer

Implement user behavior analytics to detect anomalies

Question 4

Which of the following is the best practice for managing cryptographic keys in a large organization?

Accepted Answer

Store keys in a centralized hardware security module (HSM) with strict access controls.. A centralized Hardware Security Module (HSM) provides tamper-resistant, dedicated hardware for secure key generation, storage, and cryptographic operations. Strict access controls (e.g., role-based access, multi-factor authentication) ensure that only authorized personnel can manage keys, while the HSM prevents key extraction even if the host system is compromised. This aligns with NIST SP 800-57 guidelines for key management in large organizations.

Answer

Embed keys in application code to ensure availability.

Answer

Distribute keys to administrators via email for convenience.

Answer

Use a single key for all encryption to simplify management.

Question 5

Refer to the exhibit.
```
-rw-r-x--- 1 user1 developers 1024 Apr 12 10:00 config.cfg
```
The security policy states that only the file owner (user1) and members of the developers group should be able to read the file. Which change is necessary to align with the principle of least privilege?

Accepted Answer

Change the file mode to 640.

Answer

Add world read permission.

Answer

Change group permissions to rw-r--.

Answer

Change the owner to user2.

Question 6

Which THREE of the following are considered risk management strategies? (Select THREE)

Accepted Answer

Risk acceptance. Risk management strategies include acceptance, mitigation, transfer, and avoidance. Acceptance, mitigation, and transfer are correct.

Answer

Risk assessment

Answer

Risk analysis

Question 7

An organization is adopting the 3-2-1 backup rule. They currently have data on a primary server and a daily backup to an external hard drive. To comply with the rule, what is the minimum additional requirement?

Accepted Answer

A cloud backup stored offsite. 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 different media, 1 offsite. They have 2 copies on 1 media (hard drive). Need a third copy on different media and offsite.

Answer

A second external hard drive stored on-site

Answer

An incremental backup to a network share

Answer

A full backup on tape stored in the same room

Question 8

During an incident, the IR team identifies that the root cause is a zero-day vulnerability. Which of the following is the best immediate action?

Accepted Answer

Implement compensating controls. When a zero-day vulnerability is the root cause, no vendor patch exists yet (option C is impossible). Rebuilding systems (option B) without addressing the vulnerability leaves them re-exposed. The best immediate action is to implement compensating controls—such as firewall rules, IDS/IPS signatures, or application-layer filtering—to mitigate the risk until a permanent fix is available. This aligns with incident response containment strategies that prioritize reducing impact while preserving forensic evidence.

Answer

Report to CERT/CC

Answer

Rebuild all affected systems

Answer

Apply a vendor patch

Question 9

After a major power outage, an organization needs to declare a disaster and activate its DRP. Which THREE elements should be included in the initial crisis communication?

Accepted Answer

A statement that a disaster has been declared. Initial communication should confirm the disaster, provide initial instructions, and outline next steps without revealing sensitive details.

Answer

Details of the vulnerability exploited

Answer

Names of affected customers

Question 10

An organization's backup strategy includes daily full backups. However, recovery tests show that restoring from tape takes 6 hours longer than expected. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Improperly documented recovery procedures. Improperly documented recovery procedures can lead to incorrect steps or delays during restoration, which is a common cause of extended recovery times.

Answer

Tape drive failure

Answer

Inadequate storage capacity

Answer

Insufficient bandwidth

Question 11

A small business with limited budget wants to ensure critical business functions can resume within 24 hours of a disaster. Their data changes infrequently. Which recovery solution is MOST cost-effective?

Accepted Answer

Cloud backup with instant restore. Cloud backup with instant restore (Option B) is the most cost-effective solution because the business has a limited budget, data changes infrequently, and the RTO is 24 hours. Cloud backup eliminates the need for maintaining physical infrastructure, and instant restore from cloud snapshots can meet the 24-hour RTO without the high costs of a warm or hot site.

Answer

Warm site with daily backups

Answer

Cold site with monthly backups

Answer

Hot site with real-time replication

Question 12

Which security control would best mitigate the risk of network sniffing on a wired LAN segment?

Accepted Answer

Using encryption protocols (e.g., IPsec, TLS). Encrypting traffic (e.g., using HTTPS, VPN) makes sniffed data unreadable.

Answer

Implementing VLANs

Answer

Disabling unused ports on the switch

Answer

Deploying an intrusion detection system

Question 13

A user reports that they received a suspicious email with an attachment claiming to be an invoice. What should the user do?

Accepted Answer

Report the email to the security team without opening the attachment. The user should immediately report the suspicious email to the security team without opening the attachment. Opening the attachment could trigger a malicious payload, such as a macro-enabled document or executable, that exploits vulnerabilities in the email client or operating system. The security team can analyze the email headers, attachment hash, and sender domain using tools like sandboxing or threat intelligence feeds to determine if it is a phishing attempt or malware delivery.

Answer

Reply to the email and ask for confirmation

Answer

Delete the email immediately

Answer

Open the attachment to check what it contains

Question 14

A security analyst is reviewing data handling procedures. Which THREE of the following are considered sensitive PII?

Accepted Answer

Financial account numbers. Sensitive PII includes medical records, financial account numbers, and biometric data. Name and phone number are general PII.

Answer

Phone number

Answer

Name and email address

Question 15

What is the difference between due care and due diligence in security governance?

Accepted Answer

Due care refers to implementing security controls; due diligence refers to investigating risks and verifying controls. Due care is the minimum standard of care (implementing basic security), while due diligence is investigating before acting (e.g., vendor assessments).

Answer

Due care is proactive; due diligence is reactive

Answer

They are synonymous

Answer

Due diligence is required by law; due care is voluntary

Question 16

A network security team is implementing a defense-in-depth strategy. Which TWO of the following controls are examples of network segmentation? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Implementing firewall rules between internal zones.. Implementing firewall rules between internal zones is a form of network segmentation. By creating distinct security zones (e.g., inside, outside, DMZ) and applying access control lists (ACLs) or stateful firewall policies between them, traffic is restricted to only what is explicitly permitted, thereby isolating network segments and limiting lateral movement.

Answer

Deploying an intrusion detection system (IDS) on the core switch.

Answer

Placing public-facing servers in a DMZ.

Answer

Using VPN for remote access.

Question 17

Which TWO of the following are common indicators of a phishing email? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

The email contains a sense of urgency, such as 'Your account will be closed.'. Phishing emails commonly exploit urgency to bypass rational decision-making. Attackers use phrases like 'Your account will be closed' to pressure recipients into clicking malicious links or providing credentials without verifying the source. This social engineering tactic is a hallmark of phishing campaigns.

Answer

The email contains an attachment with a .txt extension

Answer

The email has a high-importance flag set by the sender

Answer

The email is sent to multiple recipients in the 'To' field

Question 18

An analyst reviews the exhibit. Which security principle is being violated by allowing root login via SSH?

Accepted Answer

Least privilege. Allowing root login via SSH violates the principle of least privilege because it grants unrestricted administrative access to the system, bypassing any need for privilege escalation. In a properly secured SSH configuration, root login should be disabled (e.g., `PermitRootLogin no` in `/etc/ssh/sshd_config`), forcing administrators to log in as a regular user and then use `sudo` or `su` to elevate privileges only when necessary. This minimizes the attack surface and ensures that actions are auditable and tied to a specific user account.

Answer

Fail-safe

Answer

Defense in depth

Answer

Separation of duties

Question 19

Refer to the exhibit. What is the effect of this ACL?

Accepted Answer

HTTPS traffic from 10.0.1.0/24 to 192.168.2.100 is permitted; all other HTTPS is denied. The ACL explicitly permits HTTPS (TCP port 443) traffic from source network 10.0.1.0/24 to destination host 192.168.2.100. Since ACLs have an implicit deny all at the end, any HTTPS traffic not matching this permit statement is denied. Option C correctly states that only this specific traffic is permitted and all other HTTPS is denied.

Answer

All HTTPS traffic is permitted

Answer

Only hosts from 10.0.1.0/24 can access HTTPS on 192.168.2.100

Answer

The ACL is invalid due to ordering

Question 20

Drag and drop the steps to configure a wireless access point with WPA2-PSK security into the correct order.

Accepted Answer

Set SSID, then select WPA2 security mode, then set PSK passphrase, then apply settings.. Configuring a wireless access point with WPA2-PSK requires a logical sequence: first set the SSID to identify the network, then choose WPA2 as the security mode, then define the pre-shared key (PSK) passphrase, and finally apply the settings. This order ensures all necessary parameters are in place before the configuration is activated, preventing the AP from broadcasting with incomplete security settings.

Answer

Set SSID, then set PSK passphrase, then select WPA2 security mode, then apply settings.

Answer

Select WPA2 security mode, then set SSID, then set PSK passphrase, then apply settings.

Answer

Set SSID, then select WPA2 security mode, then apply settings, then set PSK passphrase.