CAS-004 Governance, Risk, and Compliance Practice Question
Which risk treatment option involves reducing the likelihood or impact of a risk through controls?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAS-005 often tests the distinction between risk treatment options, and candidates frequently confuse mitigation with avoidance or transfer, especially when the question mentions 'controls' which could be misconstrued as transfer via insurance.
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
✓
Mitigate
Mitigation involves implementing controls to reduce the likelihood or impact of a risk. This is the definition of risk mitigation in risk management frameworks like NIST and ISO 31000. It is distinct from avoidance (eliminating the activity), acceptance (retaining the risk), and transfer (shifting to a third party).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Mitigate
Why this is correct
Mitigation applies controls to reduce risk.
- ✗
Avoid
Why it's wrong here
Avoidance eliminates the activity generating the risk altogether rather than reducing its likelihood or impact through controls; it is tempting because it removes exposure entirely, but the stem specifies mitigation, which avoidance bypasses by withdrawing from the activity.
- ✗
Accept
Why it's wrong here
Accepting retains the risk without applying controls, so likelihood and impact stay unchanged; it is tempting because it is legitimate for low-exposure risks where treatment cost exceeds the potential loss, but the stem demands active reduction.
- ✗
Transfer
Why it's wrong here
Transferring shifts financial exposure to a third party, such as an insurer, without altering the risk's likelihood or impact; it is tempting because it genuinely addresses high-severity risks, but no control reduces the risk itself, which the stem requires.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This CAS-005 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-005 exam.