CISM Incident Management Practice Question
An organization's incident response team has contained a data breach. Legal counsel has advised that litigation is likely. Which of the following actions should the team take to preserve evidence?
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
✓
Issue a legal hold and create forensic images of affected systems
When litigation is anticipated, a legal hold must be issued to prevent destruction of relevant evidence, and forensic copies should be made before remediation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Issue a legal hold and create forensic images of affected systems
Why this is correct
Legal hold preserves data, and forensic images capture the state for evidence.
- ✗
Immediately wipe affected systems to prevent further data loss
Why it's wrong here
Wiping could destroy evidence; forensic copies should be made first.
- ✗
Notify the affected individuals as required by law
Why it's wrong here
Notification is important but does not preserve evidence.
- ✗
Delete all logs to avoid exposing sensitive information
Why it's wrong here
Deleting logs would destroy evidence.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 871 original CISM practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.