CISA Protection of Information Assets Practice Question
During an audit of the incident response process, the IS auditor finds that the organization relies on shared accounts for system administration. Which TWO of the following are the MOST significant risks associated with shared accounts?
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
✓
Lack of individual accountability for actions performed
Shared accounts make it difficult to attribute actions to specific individuals and can lead to loss of audit trail, increasing the risk of undetected misuse.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increased complexity in password management
Why it's wrong here
This is an operational issue, not a primary risk.
- ✓
Lack of individual accountability for actions performed
Why this is correct
Without unique IDs, it's impossible to know who performed a specific action.
- ✗
Increased overhead for account provisioning
Why it's wrong here
Shared accounts actually reduce provisioning overhead.
- ✓
Audit trails may not be reliable for forensic investigations
Why this is correct
Shared accounts undermine the integrity of audit logs.
- ✗
Higher likelihood of password sharing outside the authorized group
Why it's wrong here
While possible, the main risk is lack of accountability.
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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.