The answer is mitigation and transference. Adding extra monitoring and patching to a legacy tool reduces the likelihood or impact of a security incident, which is the core of risk mitigation—you are actively lowering the risk without removing the asset. Purchasing cyber insurance shifts the financial burden of a potential loss to a third party, which is risk transference. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between the four primary risk treatment strategies: avoidance, mitigation, transference, and acceptance. A common trap is confusing transference with acceptance; remember that keeping the tool is not acceptance unless you consciously decide to do nothing about the risk. A helpful memory tip is “MITT” for Mitigate, Transfer, and Treat—if you’re actively doing something to reduce or shift risk, it’s not acceptance.
SY0-701 Security Program Management and Oversight Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of security program management and oversight. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 business unit keeps a low-priority legacy tool but adds extra monitoring and patching. The company also buys cyber insurance to reduce the financial effect of a loss. Which two risk treatment strategies are being used? Select two.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Mitigation
Adding extra monitoring and patching to a legacy tool is a classic example of risk mitigation, as it reduces the likelihood or impact of a security incident without removing the asset. Purchasing cyber insurance transfers the financial risk of a loss to a third party, which is a risk transference strategy. The question asks for two strategies, and mitigation is one of them; the other is transference, which is not listed as an option here, but the correct choices from the given set are mitigation and acceptance (since the business unit keeps the low-priority legacy tool, accepting the residual risk).
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Acceptance
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance means the organization knowingly leaves the risk as-is without adding new treatment.
✓
Mitigation
Why this is correct
Mitigation reduces risk by adding controls such as monitoring, patching, or other protective measures.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Avoidance
Why it's wrong here
Avoidance would mean stopping the risky activity or removing the legacy tool entirely.
✓
Transfer
Why this is correct
Transfer shifts some financial exposure to another party, such as through insurance or a contract.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Deterrent
Why it's wrong here
A deterrent discourages behavior, but it is not the same as reducing or transferring the risk.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse risk acceptance (keeping the asset without additional controls) with risk mitigation (adding controls), or they fail to recognize that cyber insurance is a transference strategy, not mitigation or acceptance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Risk mitigation involves implementing controls like vulnerability scanning, patch management (e.g., using WSUS or SCCM for legacy systems), and enhanced logging (e.g., forwarding logs to a SIEM such as Splunk). Cyber insurance is a form of risk transference where the financial burden of a breach is shifted to an insurer, often requiring proof of due diligence (e.g., patching SLAs) to maintain coverage. In real-world scenarios, legacy tools like Windows Server 2008 R2 might be kept for compatibility but isolated with network segmentation and monitored via EDR agents.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SY0-701 question in full detail.
Security Program Management and Oversight — This question tests Security Program Management and Oversight — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Mitigation — Adding extra monitoring and patching to a legacy tool is a classic example of risk mitigation, as it reduces the likelihood or impact of a security incident without removing the asset. Purchasing cyber insurance transfers the financial risk of a loss to a third party, which is a risk transference strategy. The question asks for two strategies, and mitigation is one of them; the other is transference, which is not listed as an option here, but the correct choices from the given set are mitigation and acceptance (since the business unit keeps the low-priority legacy tool, accepting the residual risk).
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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