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CISM Practice Question: After a security incident, which step should be…
After a security incident, which step should be taken first?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISACA CISM often tests the misconception that eradication or recovery should come first because candidates confuse the urgency of removing the threat with the logical sequence of incident response phases.
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
✓
Containment
In incident management, containment is the immediate priority after detection because it stops the spread of the threat and limits damage. Without containment, the attacker may continue to move laterally, exfiltrate data, or destroy evidence, making recovery and eradication ineffective. CISM emphasizes that containment must precede eradication and recovery to preserve forensic integrity and reduce 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.
- ✗
Recovery
Why it's wrong here
Recovery is performed after eradication.
- ✗
Lessons learned
Why it's wrong here
Lessons learned is conducted after recovery.
- ✓
Containment
Why this is correct
Correct: Immediate containment stops the incident from spreading.
- ✗
Eradication
Why it's wrong here
Eradication should occur after containment.
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About these practice questions
This CISM question is part of Courseiva's 871-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.