CISA Governance and Management of IT Practice Question
An organization's data classification policy defines 'Confidential' data as requiring encryption at rest. An IS auditor discovers that a database containing customer personal information is not encrypted. What is the auditor's BEST course of 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
✓
Report the finding to the data owner and IT management
The IS auditor's primary responsibility is to report findings to the appropriate stakeholders—the data owner and IT management—so they can take corrective action. Option A is incorrect because implementing controls is management's responsibility, not the auditor's. Option C is premature; compensating controls should be recommended after reporting and discussing the risk. Option D is unnecessary since the data classification policy already defines 'Confidential' data requiring encryption, and the auditor has identified a violation of that policy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Encrypt the database immediately
Why it's wrong here
An IS auditor providing assurance must not implement controls, since doing so compromises independence and removes the ability to audit objectively. Direct remediation is the correct action for database or security administrators, who own and operate the environment rather than assess it.
- ✓
Report the finding to the data owner and IT management
Why this is correct
The auditor's role is to report the control gap, not remediate it. Escalating to the data owner and IT management places the finding with those accountable for the Confidential data and able to enforce encryption at rest, satisfying the policy requirement.
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Recommend a compensating control
Why it's wrong here
A compensating control substitutes for encryption only when encryption is genuinely infeasible; here it is achievable, so recommending one leaves the policy violation unresolved. Compensating controls are appropriate when technical constraints prevent the primary control, not as a substitute for straightforward remediation.
- ✗
Verify the classification of the data
Why it's wrong here
Confirming the data's classification does not address the missing encryption the policy requires; customer personal information already falls under Confidential. Classification verification is the right step when the label itself is unknown or disputed, not when the policy obligation and the control gap are both established.
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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.