CISM Incident Management Practice Question
A financial services firm has activated its crisis management team (CMT) for a significant data breach. The CISO, who is a member of the CMT, is asked to present the technical details of the incident. However, the CMT's primary focus should be on which of the following?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming the CMT is involved in technical recovery or forensic analysis, when its focus is strategic business decisions.
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
✓
Making strategic decisions regarding business continuity and stakeholder communication.
The CMT's primary role during a major incident is to make strategic decisions that affect the entire organization, such as business continuity, resource allocation, and stakeholder communication. While technical input is valuable, the CMT must focus on the broader impact and ensure that the response aligns with business objectives. This separation of strategic and tactical responsibilities is a key CISM principle.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Making strategic decisions regarding business continuity and stakeholder communication.
Why this is correct
The CMT is responsible for strategic decision-making during a crisis, including ensuring business continuity, managing communications with stakeholders, and aligning incident response with organizational objectives. Technical details are important but are inputs to these decisions. The CMT focuses on the big picture, such as whether to shut down systems, how to inform customers, and how to maintain trust.
- ✗
Coordinating the technical recovery of affected systems.
Why it's wrong here
Technical recovery is typically handled by the incident response team, not the CMT. The CMT's role is strategic, focusing on business impact and overall coordination. While the CISO may provide technical updates, the CMT should not delve into operational recovery tasks. This option misrepresents the CMT's primary responsibility, which is to manage the broader organizational response and communication.
- ✗
Conducting a forensic analysis to determine the root cause.
Why it's wrong here
Forensic analysis is a technical task performed by specialized incident responders or forensic experts. The CMT may review findings to inform decisions, but its primary responsibility is not to conduct the analysis. This option confuses the tactical work of incident response with the strategic oversight of the CMT, which is more concerned with business impact and recovery.
- ✗
Directly managing the incident response team's daily activities.
Why it's wrong here
Direct management of the incident response team is typically the responsibility of the incident response manager or CISO, not the CMT. The CMT provides strategic direction and support, but does not micromanage tactical operations. This option incorrectly assigns operational control to the CMT, which should remain focused on high-level coordination and decision-making.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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.