CISM Information Security Program Practice Question
A security manager is designing a metrics dashboard for executive management. Which of the following metrics is MOST useful for demonstrating the value of the security program?
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
✓
Mean time to detect incidents
Mean time to detect (MTTD) incidents is a direct measure of the security program's effectiveness in identifying threats, which demonstrates its value by showing how quickly the organization can respond to potential breaches. Metrics like budget percentage (A), patches applied (B), or policies created (C) are operational or input-focused and do not reflect the program's outcome or business impact.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Percentage of budget spent on security
Why it's wrong here
Budget spend indicates investment, not effectiveness.
- ✗
Number of security patches applied
Why it's wrong here
Patching is a tactical metric, not a strategic value indicator.
- ✗
Number of security policies created
Why it's wrong here
Policy count does not measure implementation or impact.
- ✓
Mean time to detect incidents
Why this is correct
MTTD measures the program's effectiveness in identifying threats, demonstrating proactive value.
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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.