Question 391 of 509

Protection of Information Assets →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

CISA Protection of Information Assets Practice Question

This CISA practice question tests your understanding of protection of information assets. 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.

You are an information security manager for a global financial services company. The organization maintains a hybrid infrastructure with critical customer data stored on an on-premises Oracle database server (DB-SRV-01) and in an AWS S3 bucket (customer-data-prod). At 10:00 AM, the security operations center (SOC) alerts you to an anomalous outbound data transfer from DB-SRV-01 to an unknown IP address in a high-risk country. The transfer started at 9:45 AM and involves 500 MB of data, likely including personally identifiable information (PII). The SOC has already quarantined the server's network egress by blocking all outbound traffic from DB-SRV-01, but the server remains connected to the internal production network. Meanwhile, a separate analysis indicates that the S3 bucket has been accessed via an IAM key that was stolen from a compromised developer workstation three days ago. The key has not been rotated. The incident response team is preparing to act. The primary objective is to protect information assets and minimize data exposure. Given this scenario, which of the following actions should the team take FIRST?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Restore DB-SRV-01 from a clean backup taken before the incident and change the IAM keys for the S3 bucket.
Why wrong: Restoring from backup would destroy the live system state needed for forensic investigation and does not address the active S3 bucket access; changing keys is necessary but not the first step.
B
Notify the appropriate data protection authority within the required 72-hour timeframe.
Why wrong: Notification is a legal step but is not an immediate containment action; the first priority is to stop the bleeding, not to report it.
C
Patch the Oracle database server to the latest version to close any known vulnerabilities.
Why wrong: Patching is important but should come after containment and forensic preservation; applying patches without understanding the attack vector may destroy evidence and not stop the active compromise.
D
Isolate DB-SRV-01 from the internal network by disconnecting its network cable or disabling the virtual switch port.
Isolating the server halts any ongoing data exfiltration and prevents the attacker from moving laterally to other systems. This preserves the system state for forensic analysis while containing the breach.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Isolate DB-SRV-01 from the internal network by disconnecting its network cable or disabling the virtual switch port.

Option C is correct because immediately isolating the affected server from the internal network is the most critical first step to prevent lateral movement and further data exfiltration. Option A is incorrect because patching the server without understanding the attack vector could destroy forensic evidence and may not address the active compromise. Option B is incorrect because notifying the data protection authority is a legal requirement but not an immediate containment action. Option D is incorrect because restoring from backup would eliminate any forensic evidence and may reintroduce the same vulnerability, and it does not address the S3 bucket issue.

Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Restore DB-SRV-01 from a clean backup taken before the incident and change the IAM keys for the S3 bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring from backup would destroy the live system state needed for forensic investigation and does not address the active S3 bucket access; changing keys is necessary but not the first step.
✗
Notify the appropriate data protection authority within the required 72-hour timeframe.
Why it's wrong here
Notification is a legal step but is not an immediate containment action; the first priority is to stop the bleeding, not to report it.
✗
Patch the Oracle database server to the latest version to close any known vulnerabilities.
Why it's wrong here
Patching is important but should come after containment and forensic preservation; applying patches without understanding the attack vector may destroy evidence and not stop the active compromise.
✓
Isolate DB-SRV-01 from the internal network by disconnecting its network cable or disabling the virtual switch port.
Why this is correct
Isolating the server halts any ongoing data exfiltration and prevents the attacker from moving laterally to other systems. This preserves the system state for forensic analysis while containing the breach.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "primary", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic

NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.

TExam Day Tips

Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.

Key takeaway

NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.

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.

Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CISA NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this CISA question test?

Protection of Information Assets — This question tests Protection of Information Assets — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Isolate DB-SRV-01 from the internal network by disconnecting its network cable or disabling the virtual switch port. — Option C is correct because immediately isolating the affected server from the internal network is the most critical first step to prevent lateral movement and further data exfiltration. Option A is incorrect because patching the server without understanding the attack vector could destroy forensic evidence and may not address the active compromise. Option B is incorrect because notifying the data protection authority is a legal requirement but not an immediate containment action. Option D is incorrect because restoring from backup would eliminate any forensic evidence and may reintroduce the same vulnerability, and it does not address the S3 bucket issue.

What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "first", "primary", "minimum / minimize". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026

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