CISM Incident Management Practice Question
An organization maintains evidence handling procedures for incident response. A forensic investigator needs to collect a hard drive from a compromised server. Which of the following is the MOST critical step to ensure admissibility in court?
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
✓
Documenting the chain of custody from the moment of collection.
Chain of custody documentation is essential for evidence integrity and admissibility.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Encrypting the hard drive during transport.
Why it's wrong here
Encryption protects confidentiality but chain of custody is key for admissibility.
- ✗
Creating a forensic image of the hard drive before disconnecting it.
Why it's wrong here
Imaging is important but chain of custody is critical for legal admissibility.
- ✗
Ensuring the investigator has the proper certification.
Why it's wrong here
Certification is important but not the most critical step for admissibility.
- ✓
Documenting the chain of custody from the moment of collection.
Why this is correct
Chain of custody proves evidence hasn't been tampered with.
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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.