CISM Information Security Program Practice Question
An organization has a mature security program but is experiencing an increase in successful social engineering attacks. The incident response team has confirmed that the attacks are bypassing current controls. What should the program manager do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to a technical or training solution (B, C, or D) without first performing a root cause analysis, failing to recognize that the CISM framework requires a risk-based, diagnostic approach before implementing any control change.
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
✓
Conduct a root cause analysis and update risk assessment
A root cause analysis (RCA) is the correct first step because it identifies the specific weaknesses in people, processes, or technology that allowed the social engineering attacks to bypass existing controls. Updating the risk assessment based on RCA findings ensures that remediation efforts are prioritized against actual threats, rather than applying generic fixes. This aligns with the CISM principle that program management decisions must be data-driven and risk-based.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Conduct a root cause analysis and update risk assessment
Why this is correct
Identifies gaps and informs control improvements.
- ✗
Implement multi-factor authentication for all systems
Why it's wrong here
Good but not necessarily the first step.
- ✗
Disable email links and attachments
Why it's wrong here
Drastic and may impact business operations.
- ✗
Increase the frequency of security awareness training
Why it's wrong here
May address symptoms but not root causes.
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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.