easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISM Practice Question: Based on the exhibit, what is the PRIMARY risk of…
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
Exhibit: JSON policy snippet for an incident response automation:
{
"policy_name": "Auto-Contain Malicious IP",
"trigger": "SIEM_alert.severity >= 5",
"actions": [
{"action": "block_ip", "target": "alert.source_ip"},
{"action": "isolate_host", "target": "alert.target_host"},
{"action": "create_ticket", "assignee": "IR_team"}
],
"notify": ["SOC_manager"],
"auto_approve": true
}Based on the exhibit, what is the PRIMARY risk of the automated response policy as configured?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates focus on the technical effectiveness of the block (dynamic IPs) or the severity threshold, rather than recognizing that the automated approval itself—without human-in-the-loop—is the primary risk, as it can cause business disruption from false positives.
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
✓
Automatic approval may cause unnecessary disruption on false positives
An automated response policy that approves blocking actions without human validation can trigger unnecessary disruption when false positives occur. Even if the severity threshold is appropriate, the lack of a verification step means legitimate traffic may be blocked, impacting business operations. The primary risk is not the effectiveness of the block but the operational impact of automated decisions on benign events.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Blocking the IP may be ineffective against dynamic IPs
Why it's wrong here
This is a general limitation but not the primary risk in this context.
- ✗
The SOC manager may not receive notifications in time
Why it's wrong here
Notification is configured.
- ✓
Automatic approval may cause unnecessary disruption on false positives
Why this is correct
Without manual validation, false positives can lead to business impact.
- ✗
The trigger severity is too low
Why it's wrong here
Severity >=5 is appropriate for automated actions.
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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.