mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISA Practice Question: Developing a mobile application that processes…
A company is developing a mobile application that processes credit card payments. During the testing phase, which of the following types of testing is MOST critical to ensure security?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'regression testing' or 'interface testing' with security validation, overlooking that only penetration testing actively attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in the payment processing logic and data handling.
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
✓
Penetration testing.
Penetration testing is the most critical testing type for a mobile application processing credit card payments because it simulates real-world attacks to identify exploitable vulnerabilities in the payment data flow, authentication mechanisms, and API endpoints. This directly addresses PCI DSS requirements for security testing of cardholder data environments, unlike other testing types that focus on functionality or user experience.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Interface testing.
Why it's wrong here
Interface testing checks data exchange, not security.
- ✗
Usability testing.
Why it's wrong here
Usability testing focuses on user experience, not security.
- ✓
Penetration testing.
Why this is correct
Penetration testing identifies exploitable security weaknesses.
- ✗
Regression testing.
Why it's wrong here
Regression testing ensures new code doesn't break existing functionality, not security.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 995 original CISA practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.