- A
Risk transfer, because the risk was moved to another company.
Why wrong: Risk transfer shifts responsibility to another party, often through insurance or outsourcing.
- B
Risk acceptance, because management chose to live with the remaining risk.
Risk acceptance is the correct term when management knowingly approves continued operation despite identified risk. The director is not eliminating the issue or moving it elsewhere; instead, they are choosing to tolerate the residual risk for business reasons such as cost or timing. This is a normal part of risk management when the risk is understood and documented.
- C
Risk avoidance, because the application is still being used.
Why wrong: Risk avoidance means stopping the risky activity, which did not happen here.
- D
Risk mitigation, because the replacement cost was too high.
Why wrong: Risk mitigation would mean adding controls to reduce the risk, not simply approving continued use.
Quick Answer
The answer is risk acceptance, because the operations director acknowledged the risk and chose to live with it rather than spend the high cost to replace the application. In risk management, acceptance means management formally tolerates the residual risk after deciding that the cost of any control—whether mitigation, avoidance, or transfer—exceeds the potential benefit. This contrasts with risk avoidance, which would mean discontinuing the application entirely; risk mitigation, which would involve adding controls to reduce the likelihood or impact; and risk transfer, such as purchasing cyber insurance to shift the financial burden. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between the four core risk responses, and a common trap is confusing acceptance with mitigation when no new controls are applied. Remember the mnemonic “A-MAT” for Avoid, Mitigate, Accept, Transfer—and when management simply signs off without action, it’s always 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.
After reviewing a risk memo, the operations director signs off on continuing to use an older application because the cost of replacement is too high right now. Which risk management action did the director take?
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 acceptance, because management chose to live with the remaining risk.
The operations director chose to continue using the older application despite the identified risk, explicitly because the cost of replacement was too high. This is the definition of risk acceptance: management acknowledges the risk and decides to tolerate the residual risk without implementing additional controls. The director did not transfer, avoid, or mitigate the risk; they accepted it as a cost of business.
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.
- ✗
Risk transfer, because the risk was moved to another company.
Why it's wrong here
Risk transfer shifts responsibility to another party, often through insurance or outsourcing.
- ✓
Risk acceptance, because management chose to live with the remaining risk.
Why this is correct
Risk acceptance is the correct term when management knowingly approves continued operation despite identified risk. The director is not eliminating the issue or moving it elsewhere; instead, they are choosing to tolerate the residual risk for business reasons such as cost or timing. This is a normal part of risk management when the risk is understood and documented.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Risk avoidance, because the application is still being used.
Why it's wrong here
Risk avoidance means stopping the risky activity, which did not happen here.
- ✗
Risk mitigation, because the replacement cost was too high.
Why it's wrong here
Risk mitigation would mean adding controls to reduce the risk, not simply approving continued use.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing 'acceptance' with 'avoidance' — candidates often think that continuing to use the application means avoiding the risk, but avoidance requires stopping the risky activity entirely, not just living with it.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Risk acceptance is a formal decision documented in the risk register, often accompanied by a residual risk level that falls within the organization's risk appetite. In practice, this might involve accepting the risk of an unpatched legacy application (e.g., Windows Server 2008) because the cost of migration to a supported OS exceeds the potential loss from a breach. The director's sign-off creates an audit trail that the risk was acknowledged and accepted at the appropriate management level.
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 analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Security Program Management and Oversight — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Security Program Management and Oversight practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SY0-701 questions
1,152 questions across all exam domains
- →
Security+ SY0-701 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SY0-701 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SY0-701 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
General Security Concepts practice questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to General Security Concepts.
Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations practice questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations.
Security Architecture practice questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security Architecture.
Security Operations practice questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security Operations.
Security Program Management and Oversight practice questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security Program Management and Oversight.
Security+ social engineering questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ social engineering questions.
Security+ cryptography practice questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ cryptography.
Security+ IAM questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ IAM questions.
Security+ risk management questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ risk management questions.
Security+ incident response questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ incident response questions.
Security+ malware questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ malware questions.
Security+ vulnerability management questions
Practise SY0-701 questions linked to Security+ vulnerability management questions.
Practice this exam
Start a free SY0-701 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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 acceptance, because management chose to live with the remaining risk. — The operations director chose to continue using the older application despite the identified risk, explicitly because the cost of replacement was too high. This is the definition of risk acceptance: management acknowledges the risk and decides to tolerate the residual risk without implementing additional controls. The director did not transfer, avoid, or mitigate the risk; they accepted it as a cost of business.
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 →
Keep practising
More SY0-701 practice questions
- An HR analyst must send a salary file to an external auditor. The auditor only needs names, departments, and salary tota…
- An investigator receives a suspect laptop drive that may be used in court. Which approach best supports a forensically s…
- An investigator must collect data from a suspected insider-threat laptop so the evidence could be used in an HR and lega…
- An NDR tool shows a production web server sending small, periodic DNS queries to random-looking subdomains under a domai…
- An investigator needs to make a forensic image of a suspect laptop without changing the original drive contents. Which t…
- An operations team manages Linux servers over SSH. The security team wants to stop direct management access from employe…
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.