CISM Information Security Risk Management Practice Question
A security manager is conducting a risk assessment for a new cloud-based system. The system will store sensitive customer data. Which of the following should be the FIRST step in the risk assessment process?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse the order of risk assessment steps, mistakenly thinking that identifying threats (Option C) comes first because threats are the 'active' element, but CISM emphasizes that asset identification is the foundational step that drives all subsequent analysis.
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
✓
Identify and classify information assets
In the risk assessment process, the first step is to identify and classify information assets because you cannot assess risks to assets you haven't identified. For a cloud-based system storing sensitive customer data, this means cataloging data types (e.g., PII, financial records), their locations (e.g., specific cloud storage buckets), and their classification levels (e.g., confidential, restricted) before any threat or vulnerability analysis can be meaningfully performed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Select appropriate security controls
Why it's wrong here
Selecting controls presupposes a completed assessment; controls are chosen only after assets, threats, vulnerabilities and impacts are identified and analysed. This step belongs in risk treatment, not initiation, so it cannot be the first activity in assessing the new cloud system.
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Conduct vulnerability scanning
Why it's wrong here
Vulnerability scanning is a technical detection activity performed against known assets and requires scope, authorisation and asset inventory first. It cannot precede identification of the cloud system's assets and data flows, so it is not the initial risk assessment step.
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Identify potential threat sources
Why it's wrong here
Identifying threat sources is only one component of risk identification; the first step is establishing context and identifying the assets and data the cloud system will hold. Threat sources are enumerated after the asset and data inventory is defined.
- ✓
Identify and classify information assets
Why this is correct
Risk assessment begins with identifying and classifying the information assets the cloud system will hold, since sensitivity and value drive every subsequent threat, vulnerability, and impact analysis. Without an asset inventory, later likelihood and impact ratings lack a defensible basis.
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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.