The answer is that the overly permissive regex pattern '.*' in the resource block is the most critical control issue. This is because the regex '.*' after 'sales_' acts as a wildcard, matching any characters that follow, so it could grant unintended access to tables like 'sales_archive_private' or 'sales_2024_sensitive', violating the principle of least privilege. On the CISA exam, this scenario tests your understanding of IAM policy regex pattern risk, where auditors must identify how lax resource patterns can expose sensitive data beyond the intended scope. A common trap is focusing on the user permissions (READ_ONLY vs. READ_WRITE) instead of the underlying regex flaw that makes both permissions dangerous. Memory tip: think of '.*' as a "greedy grabber"—it takes everything after the prefix, not just what you intended.
CISA Information System Auditing Process Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of information system auditing process. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. An IS auditor is reviewing an IAM policy for a cloud data platform. The auditor notices that user jdoe has READ_ONLY access to all tables matching 'sales_', but asmith has READ_WRITE access to the same set of tables. Which of the following is the MOST critical control issue?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The resource pattern '.*' in the regex could grant access to unintended tables
Option D is correct because the regex pattern '.*' in the resource block is overly permissive and could match unintended tables beyond the intended 'sales_' prefix. In AWS IAM policies, the resource element uses regex-like patterns, and '.*' after 'sales_' would match any characters, including tables like 'sales_archive_private' or 'sales_2024_sensitive', potentially exposing sensitive data. This violates the principle of least privilege and is a critical control issue.
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.
✗
Users should not be directly assigned roles; use groups
Why it's wrong here
Direct assignment is acceptable; not a critical issue.
✗
The roles data_analyst and data_scientist have overlapping permissions
Why it's wrong here
Different permissions levels are intended; overlap is not a problem.
✗
User jdoe should not have access to the sales_ tables
Why it's wrong here
The policy intends jdoe to have read-only access; that's fine.
✓
The resource pattern '.*' in the regex could grant access to unintended tables
Why this is correct
The pattern '.*' after 'sales_' matches any suffix, but the preceding '.*' in the dataset pattern is overly broad.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISACA often tests the misconception that direct user assignment or role overlap is the primary issue, when in fact the overly broad resource pattern is the most critical control weakness.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In AWS IAM, the resource element uses a policy language that supports glob patterns (e.g., 'arn:aws:dynamodb:us-east-1:123456789012:table/sales_*'), but the regex-like pattern '.*' in the exhibit is not standard IAM syntax; it likely represents a misinterpretation or a custom policy engine. A real-world scenario is when a regex like 'sales_.*' accidentally matches 'sales_private_customer_data' or 'sales_internal_audit', leading to data leakage. The most secure approach is to use explicit table names or a more restrictive prefix pattern like 'sales_*' without the '.*' wildcard.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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.
Information System Auditing Process — This question tests Information System Auditing Process — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The resource pattern '.*' in the regex could grant access to unintended tables — Option D is correct because the regex pattern '.*' in the resource block is overly permissive and could match unintended tables beyond the intended 'sales_' prefix. In AWS IAM policies, the resource element uses regex-like patterns, and '.*' after 'sales_' would match any characters, including tables like 'sales_archive_private' or 'sales_2024_sensitive', potentially exposing sensitive data. This violates the principle of least privilege and is a critical control issue.
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.
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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