CISM Information Security Programme Practice Question
A retail organisation's security steering committee is prioritising remediation of findings from a recent risk assessment. The CISO must recommend which risk to address FIRST, given limited resources. Which factor should PRIMARILY drive the prioritisation decision?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is equating the highest technical severity or largest loss figure with the highest priority, when governance alignment to risk appetite is what determines treatment order.
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
✓
The risk whose exposure most exceeds the organisation's defined risk appetite and tolerance.
Prioritisation should reflect the gap between current exposure and the board-approved risk appetite and tolerance. That gap defines which risks the organisation has formally committed to treat, and it integrates likelihood, impact, and business context rather than relying on a single dimension such as loss magnitude, audit attention, or technical severity. Aligning remediation with risk appetite keeps security investment defensible to executive stakeholders.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The risk whose exposure most exceeds the organisation's defined risk appetite and tolerance.
Why this is correct
Risk appetite and tolerance express how much risk the organisation is willing to accept in pursuit of objectives. When exposure exceeds tolerance, the gap represents a governance-level obligation that demands action, making it the primary driver for prioritisation. This approach ensures remediation aligns with board-approved direction rather than isolated technical severity, which is central to CISM's risk management perspective.
- ✗
The risk with the largest potential financial loss in the register.
Why it's wrong here
Largest potential loss alone ignores likelihood and existing controls, and can divert resources to low-probability events. CISM prioritisation uses a composite view of likelihood, impact, and risk appetite, not magnitude in isolation. A high-loss but improbable scenario may legitimately rank below a moderate-loss scenario that is already occurring, so this factor is insufficient by itself.
- ✗
The risk that the external auditor flagged in the most recent report.
Why it's wrong here
Auditor findings are important inputs but reflect an external perspective that may not align with the organisation's risk appetite or business context. Prioritising solely on audit attention can create a compliance-driven programme that neglects higher business risks. CISM expects security managers to integrate audit input into a risk-based process rather than let it override risk appetite alignment.
- ✗
The risk with the highest technical severity score from the vulnerability scanner.
Why it's wrong here
Technical severity scores describe vulnerability characteristics, not business impact or likelihood of exploitation in context. A critical CVSS score on an isolated, non-production system may pose less organisational risk than a moderate flaw in a payment path. CISM prioritisation translates technical findings into business risk before ranking, so raw severity cannot be the primary driver.
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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.