hardMultiple Choice
CISA Practice Question: An IS auditor is reviewing the termination…
An IS auditor is reviewing the termination procedure for IT employees. Which of the following is the most critical control to ensure immediate effectiveness?
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
✓
Revoking physical and logical access immediately
Immediate revocation of access rights upon termination is the most critical control to prevent unauthorized access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Collecting company property
Why it's wrong here
Collecting company property does not revoke logical access, so the leaver could still authenticate after handing back a laptop. It is tempting because physical asset recovery is a visible, auditable step, and it would be correct for controlling hardware loss rather than ensuring access is disabled immediately.
- ✗
Notifying the IT department within 24 hours
Why it's wrong here
A 24-hour notification window leaves credentials live for up to a day, so termination is not immediate. It is tempting because notifying IT is genuinely necessary, and it would be correct where the requirement is timely coordination rather than instantaneous revocation of all access rights.
- ✗
Conducting an exit interview
Why it's wrong here
An exit interview gathers feedback and confirms policy acknowledgement but revokes nothing, leaving credentials active. It is tempting because it is a standard HR closure step, and it would be correct for knowledge transfer or identifying process issues, not for ensuring access terminates at the moment of departure.
- ✓
Revoking physical and logical access immediately
Why this is correct
Immediate revocation of physical and logical access severs the terminated employee's ability to authenticate, enter premises and reach systems, closing the window for sabotage or data theft. This directly satisfies the requirement for immediate effectiveness, unlike later administrative steps.
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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.