easyMultiple Choice
CISA Practice Question: An IS auditor is conducting an audit of a small…
An IS auditor is conducting an audit of a small manufacturing company's IT operations. The company has 50 employees and uses a single server running Windows Server 2019 for file sharing and print services. There is no formal change management process. The IT manager, who also doubles as the system administrator, has full administrative rights and is the only person who can make changes to the server. During the audit, the auditor notices that the server's local security policy is configured to allow unlimited password attempts and no account lockout. The IT manager states that this is to avoid locking out users who forget their passwords. The auditor also finds that the guest account is enabled on the server. What should the auditor recommend as the HIGHEST priority action?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISA often tests whether candidates prioritize immediate, exploitable technical vulnerabilities over longer-term governance or process improvements — the trap is choosing 'change management' or 'segregation of duties' because they sound like mature audit recommendations, when the question asks for the HIGHEST priority action.
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
✓
Disable the guest account and enforce account lockout policy.
The guest account being enabled on a Windows Server 2019 file/print server is an immediate, exploitable security hole — anyone on the network can authenticate anonymously and potentially access shared resources. Combined with unlimited password attempts and no account lockout, the server is also wide open to brute-force attacks against legitimate accounts. Disabling the guest account and enforcing an account lockout policy addresses both the most severe exposure and the weakest authentication control, making it the highest-priority remediation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Train employees on password security.
Why it's wrong here
Password training does not remediate unlimited attempts, absent lockout, or the enabled guest account, which permit unrestricted brute-force and anonymous access. Awareness training suits reducing phishing and weak-password habits, not closing server-level authentication and access-control weaknesses.
- ✗
Implement a formal change management process.
Why it's wrong here
Change management governs how modifications are authorised and recorded; it does not address the enabled guest account or the unlimited password attempts with no lockout, which expose the server to immediate unauthorised access. It is tempting because absent change control is a genuine finding, and formal change management would be the priority in a mature environment where access controls already function.
- ✓
Disable the guest account and enforce account lockout policy.
Why this is correct
Disabling the guest account and enforcing lockout directly closes the anonymous access and unlimited brute-force vectors the auditor observed. These are the highest-priority exposures because they permit unauthorised access and password guessing, outweighing the absence of formal change management.
- ✗
Separate the roles of IT manager and system administrator.
Why it's wrong here
Segregation of duties limits who may alter the server, but the guest account and absent lockout threshold permit unauthorised logon regardless of who administers the system. It is tempting because one person holding both roles is a real control weakness, and role separation would be the priority where excessive privilege, rather than open access, is the exposure.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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.