CISM Information Security Programme Practice Question
A security manager is designing a metrics dashboard for the CISO. Which TWO metrics are leading indicators of security performance? (Select TWO)
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
✓
Patch compliance percentage
Phishing click rate and patch compliance are proactive measures that predict future risk, unlike breach count and MTTD which are lagging.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Patch compliance percentage
Why this is correct
Leading indicator of vulnerability management.
- ✗
Number of security incidents
Why it's wrong here
Lagging indicator.
- ✗
Number of data breaches
Why it's wrong here
Lagging indicator.
- ✗
Mean time to detect (MTTD)
Why it's wrong here
Lagging indicator.
- ✓
Phishing click rate
Why this is correct
Leading indicator of user awareness effectiveness.
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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.