CISM Information Security Programme Practice Question
An organization's SOC team is measured on mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR). The security manager notices that MTTD is low but MTTR is high. What is the most likely cause?
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
✓
The incident response process lacks automation or clear procedures
Low detection time but high response time indicates that while alerts are generated quickly, the response process is slow due to inefficiencies in triage or 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.
- ✗
The team is understaffed during off-hours
Why it's wrong here
Staffing could affect both detection and response, but detection is low, so this is less likely.
- ✗
The vulnerability management program is ineffective
Why it's wrong here
Vulnerability management is preventive; it does not directly impact response time.
- ✗
The SIEM is generating too many false positives
Why it's wrong here
False positives would affect detection time, not necessarily response time.
- ✓
The incident response process lacks automation or clear procedures
Why this is correct
Slow response despite quick detection points to process or automation gaps.
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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.