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CISM Practice Question: A company experiences ransomware that encrypts…
A company experiences ransomware that encrypts critical servers. Backups are available but were taken 2 weeks ago. What is the best course?
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
✓
Restore from backups after verifying no residual malware and performing security scans
Restore from backups after verifying no residual malware and performing security scans to ensure clean restoration.
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 from backups immediately
Why it's wrong here
Immediate restore may reintroduce the malware if not thoroughly cleaned.
- ✓
Restore from backups after verifying no residual malware and performing security scans
Why this is correct
Correct: Ensures a clean environment before restoration.
- ✗
Rebuild servers from scratch
Why it's wrong here
Rebuilding is time-consuming and may not recover all data.
- ✗
Pay the ransom
Why it's wrong here
Paying ransom encourages attackers and does not guarantee data recovery.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISM 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 CISM exam.