- A
Business impact analysis (BIA)
Why wrong: Incorrect. A BIA identifies critical business processes and their dependencies, as well as recovery time objectives. It does not serve as a record of risk acceptance decisions.
- B
Risk register
Correct. The risk register is used to track identified risks, their characteristics, and the chosen treatment. Updating it with the acceptance decision, rationale, and approval is essential for risk governance.
- C
Security baseline configuration document
Why wrong: Incorrect. A security baseline defines the minimum security configuration settings for systems. It does not document risk decisions or approvals.
- D
Incident response plan
Why wrong: Incorrect. The incident response plan provides step-by-step procedures for handling security incidents. It is not the appropriate place to record risk acceptance decisions.
Quick Answer
The answer is the risk register. This is the correct document because the risk register is the central repository for tracking all identified risks, their assessed impact, and the chosen risk response—in this case, risk acceptance. Formally recording the decision to accept the $50,000 annualized loss expectancy and obtaining sign-off ensures auditability and accountability, which is a core requirement of risk management frameworks like NIST SP 800-37. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this question tests your understanding of risk response documentation versus business impact analysis (BIA); a common trap is confusing the BIA, which identifies critical business functions and recovery priorities, with the risk register, which logs specific threats and their treatment. Remember that the BIA tells you what matters, but the risk register tells you what you’re doing about it. Memory tip: “Register the response” – if you’re choosing a risk response (accept, mitigate, transfer, avoid), it always goes in the risk register.
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 security manager is leading a risk assessment for the organization. The team identifies a legacy application that contains a known critical vulnerability. The vendor has discontinued support and no patch is available. The manager calculates that the annualized loss expectancy (ALE) for exploiting this vulnerability is $50,000. Implementing a third-party web application firewall (WAF) as a compensating control would cost $80,000 per year. The organization's leadership decides that accepting the risk is the most cost-effective approach. Which of the following documents should the security manager update to formally record this risk acceptance decision and obtain the necessary sign-off?
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
Risk register
The risk register is the correct document to update because it formally tracks identified risks, their assessed impact, and the chosen risk response (acceptance). Recording the decision to accept the $50,000 ALE risk and obtaining sign-off ensures auditability and accountability, which is a key requirement in risk management frameworks like NIST SP 800-37.
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.
- ✗
Business impact analysis (BIA)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. A BIA identifies critical business processes and their dependencies, as well as recovery time objectives. It does not serve as a record of risk acceptance decisions.
- ✓
Risk register
Why this is correct
Correct. The risk register is used to track identified risks, their characteristics, and the chosen treatment. Updating it with the acceptance decision, rationale, and approval is essential for risk governance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Security baseline configuration document
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. A security baseline defines the minimum security configuration settings for systems. It does not document risk decisions or approvals.
- ✗
Incident response plan
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The incident response plan provides step-by-step procedures for handling security incidents. It is not the appropriate place to record risk acceptance decisions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse the risk register with the BIA, mistakenly thinking the BIA is used to document risk acceptance decisions, when in fact the BIA only quantifies impact and does not track risk treatment or sign-off.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the risk register is a living document that includes fields such as risk ID, description, likelihood, impact, ALE, risk owner, and the chosen response (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept). In this scenario, the ALE of $50,000 is less than the $80,000 WAF cost, making acceptance financially justified; the register must capture this cost-benefit analysis and the formal sign-off from leadership to satisfy compliance requirements like PCI DSS or SOX.
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 developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
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: Risk register — The risk register is the correct document to update because it formally tracks identified risks, their assessed impact, and the chosen risk response (acceptance). Recording the decision to accept the $50,000 ALE risk and obtaining sign-off ensures auditability and accountability, which is a key requirement in risk management frameworks like NIST SP 800-37.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SY0-701
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A legacy production scanner cannot support MFA, but it must remain available for six months until replacement hardware arrives. What is the best security response?
easy- A.Permanently waive MFA for the scanner and leave the exception open-ended.
- ✓ B.Approve a time-bound exception with compensating controls and a review date.
- C.Shut down the scanner immediately until MFA can be enabled.
- D.Create a shared administrator account so operators can sign in more easily.
Why B: Option B is correct because it balances security with operational necessity by implementing a time-bound exception with compensating controls (e.g., network segmentation, strict access logging, or IP whitelisting) and a mandatory review date. This ensures the legacy scanner remains available for six months while mitigating the risk of unauthorized access, aligning with the principle of least privilege and security program oversight.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SY0-701 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 SY0-701 exam.
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