- A
Purchase cyber liability insurance to cover potential fines and legal costs
Why wrong: Insurance is a risk transfer mechanism but does not fulfill regulatory notification obligations.
- B
Notify affected patients and relevant regulatory authorities per breach notification rules
Both HIPAA and GDPR require timely notification of data breaches; this is the first step in incident response compliance.
- C
Implement full-disk encryption on all laptops and mobile devices immediately
Why wrong: While encryption is a good long-term fix, the immediate priority is to comply with breach notification laws.
- D
Update the data classification policy to require encryption of all PHI on endpoints
Why wrong: This is a preventive measure but does not address the immediate legal requirement to notify about the breach.
Quick Answer
The correct first step is to notify affected patients and relevant regulatory authorities per breach notification rules. This is because both HIPAA and GDPR impose mandatory breach notification requirements that prioritize timely disclosure to mitigate legal liability and regulatory penalties—HIPAA allows up to 60 days for notification, while GDPR demands notification within 72 hours of becoming aware of a breach involving unencrypted protected health information (PHI). On the CompTIA SecurityX CAS-004 exam, this scenario tests your ability to prioritize compliance obligations over secondary improvements like updating data classification policies or purchasing cyber insurance; a common trap is choosing encryption retroactively, but encryption prevents future breaches, not current notification duties. Remember the memory tip: “Notify first, fix later”—when PHI is exposed, the clock starts ticking on regulatory deadlines, making notification the immediate legal imperative.
CAS-004 Governance, Risk and Compliance Practice Question
This CAS-004 practice question tests your understanding of governance, risk and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A mid-sized healthcare organization processes protected health information (PHI) and must comply with HIPAA and the GDPR for its EU patients. The organization uses a hybrid cloud environment with on-premises servers and AWS. Recently, an employee's laptop was stolen containing unencrypted PHI. The incident response team was activated. The security architect must determine the best course of action to address compliance obligations. The organization has a data classification policy, but it is not consistently enforced. A business continuity plan exists but has not been tested in two years. The CEO is concerned about reputational damage and legal liability. Which of the following should the security architect recommend FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Notify affected patients and relevant regulatory authorities per breach notification rules
Option B is correct because the primary obligation under both HIPAA and GDPR is to notify affected individuals and authorities within prescribed timeframes (72 hours for GDPR, but HIPAA allows up to 60 days). Notifying demonstrates compliance and mitigates legal risk. Option A is wrong because updating the classification policy is important but is a secondary, long-term task; immediate notification is legally required. Option C is wrong because buying cyber insurance is reactive and does not fulfill notification requirements; it addresses financial risk but not compliance. Option D is wrong while encryption would have prevented this incident, implementing encryption now will not address the current breach; notification must come first.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Purchase cyber liability insurance to cover potential fines and legal costs
Why it's wrong here
Insurance is a risk transfer mechanism but does not fulfill regulatory notification obligations.
- ✓
Notify affected patients and relevant regulatory authorities per breach notification rules
Why this is correct
Both HIPAA and GDPR require timely notification of data breaches; this is the first step in incident response compliance.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- ✗
Implement full-disk encryption on all laptops and mobile devices immediately
Why it's wrong here
While encryption is a good long-term fix, the immediate priority is to comply with breach notification laws.
- ✗
Update the data classification policy to require encryption of all PHI on endpoints
Why it's wrong here
This is a preventive measure but does not address the immediate legal requirement to notify about the breach.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CAS-004 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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Governance, Risk and Compliance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CAS-004 question test?
Governance, Risk and Compliance — This question tests Governance, Risk and Compliance — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Notify affected patients and relevant regulatory authorities per breach notification rules — Option B is correct because the primary obligation under both HIPAA and GDPR is to notify affected individuals and authorities within prescribed timeframes (72 hours for GDPR, but HIPAA allows up to 60 days). Notifying demonstrates compliance and mitigates legal risk. Option A is wrong because updating the classification policy is important but is a secondary, long-term task; immediate notification is legally required. Option C is wrong because buying cyber insurance is reactive and does not fulfill notification requirements; it addresses financial risk but not compliance. Option D is wrong while encryption would have prevented this incident, implementing encryption now will not address the current breach; notification must come first.
What should I do if I get this CAS-004 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CAS-004 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best", "first". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This CAS-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CAS-004 exam.
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