CISM Information Security Programme Practice Question
An organization with a mature security program is reviewing its budget allocation. The board has asked the CISO to justify a proposed increase. Which of the following provides the STRONGEST justification for the security budget?
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
✓
Breach avoidance value, estimating the cost of incidents that were prevented.
Breach avoidance value quantifies the financial impact of prevented incidents, providing a direct link between security investment and risk reduction, which is compelling to the board.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Benchmarking against industry peers showing that the proposed budget is below average.
Why it's wrong here
Benchmarking alone does not justify value.
- ✓
Breach avoidance value, estimating the cost of incidents that were prevented.
Why this is correct
This directly demonstrates ROI.
- ✗
Operational efficiency gains from automation of security processes.
Why it's wrong here
While valid, breach avoidance is stronger for justifying increases.
- ✗
Compliance with all regulatory requirements to avoid fines.
Why it's wrong here
Compliance is a baseline, not a strong justification for increase.
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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.