The answer is to define a baseline of normal user behavior and implement exclusions for routine maintenance activities. Defining a baseline allows the DAM to distinguish legitimate patterns from anomalies, while excluding predictable maintenance queries prevents alert fatigue from benign operations. This approach directly addresses the challenge of database activity monitoring reduce false positives by filtering out noise without sacrificing threat detection. On the CISA exam, this tests your understanding of tuning controls to balance security and operational efficiency—a common trap is assuming all alerts must be investigated, when in fact proper tuning improves incident response. Remember the mnemonic “BASE” for Baseline, Activity exclusions, Scheduled maintenance, and Exceptions to keep these best practices straight.
CISA Protection of Information Assets Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of protection of information assets. 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.
An organization has implemented a database activity monitoring (DAM) solution. Which of the following are BEST practices for tuning the DAM to reduce false positives? (Choose TWO.)
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement exclusions for routine maintenance activities
Implementing exclusions for routine maintenance activities (Option A) is a best practice because these activities often generate predictable database queries that are not indicative of security threats. By excluding them, the DAM solution avoids alerting on benign operations, thereby reducing false positives without compromising security coverage.
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.
✓
Implement exclusions for routine maintenance activities
Why this is correct
Excluding known safe activities reduces false positives.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable alerts for all database queries
Why it's wrong here
This would cause too many false positives.
✗
Increase the sensitivity of all detection rules
Why it's wrong here
Higher sensitivity may increase false positives.
✗
Review alerts in real-time only
Why it's wrong here
Real-time review does not tune the system to reduce false positives.
✓
Define a baseline of normal user behavior
Why this is correct
Baselining helps distinguish abnormal from normal activity.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think increasing sensitivity (Option C) improves detection, but it actually amplifies false positives, whereas the correct approach is to establish a baseline (Option E) and exclude known benign activities (Option A).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Database activity monitoring solutions typically use a combination of signature-based detection (e.g., matching known SQL injection patterns) and anomaly-based detection (e.g., deviation from a baseline of normal user behavior). Tuning involves creating whitelist rules for routine maintenance tasks—such as scheduled backups, index rebuilds, or statistics updates—which often execute predictable SQL commands (e.g., BACKUP DATABASE, ALTER INDEX). In a real-world scenario, failing to exclude these activities could result in thousands of false alerts per day, overwhelming the security team and causing them to miss a real attack hidden in the noise.
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 practitioner preparing for the CISA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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.
Protection of Information Assets — This question tests Protection of Information Assets — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement exclusions for routine maintenance activities — Implementing exclusions for routine maintenance activities (Option A) is a best practice because these activities often generate predictable database queries that are not indicative of security threats. By excluding them, the DAM solution avoids alerting on benign operations, thereby reducing false positives without compromising security coverage.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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