easyMultiple Choice
CISM Practice Question: A security analyst detects unusual outbound…
A security analyst detects unusual outbound traffic from a critical server to an unknown external IP address during business hours. Which step should be taken FIRST in the incident response process?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers choose immediate containment (Option B) due to urgency, but CISM emphasizes that verification must precede containment to avoid false positives and operational impact.
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
✓
Contact the server owner to verify the traffic
The first step in incident response is to verify and validate the alert. Contacting the server owner to confirm whether the outbound traffic is authorized prevents unnecessary disruption and false positives. This aligns with the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle, where identification and initial triage precede containment or escalation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Notify law enforcement about the potential breach
Why it's wrong here
Law enforcement notification follows containment, eradication and internal escalation; contacting external authorities before scoping the incident risks tipping off an attacker and breaching disclosure obligations. It becomes appropriate once a confirmed criminal breach requires regulatory or police reporting, not during initial triage of suspicious traffic.
- ✗
Isolate the server from the network immediately
Why it's wrong here
Isolation is a containment action taken after the incident is validated and scoped; pulling a critical server offline on unconfirmed traffic causes avoidable outage and destroys volatile evidence such as live connections and memory. It would be first only once analysis confirms active compromise requiring immediate containment.
- ✓
Contact the server owner to verify the traffic
Why this is correct
Verifying with the server owner establishes whether the outbound traffic is legitimate business activity before escalating, satisfying the stem's requirement to act first. This validation step prevents wasted containment effort on false positives and confirms whether the detection warrants full incident response.
- ✗
Report the incident to senior management
Why it's wrong here
Management reporting occurs after the incident is triaged, classified and contained, since executives need confirmed impact rather than raw alerts. Escalating at detection bypasses the analyst's validation step and delays technical response. It would be first only for a confirmed major breach triggering crisis communication protocols.
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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.