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CISM Practice Question: During the identification phase of incident…
During the identification phase of incident response, which of the following is the MOST reliable indicator of a security incident?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'reliability' with 'timeliness' or 'breadth,' choosing ambiguous indicators like unusual traffic patterns because they seem proactive, while overlooking that definitive, automated detection (antivirus signature match) provides the highest confidence for confirming an incident.
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
✓
Antivirus software detects a known malware signature.
Antivirus software detecting a known malware signature is the most reliable indicator because it uses signature-based detection, which matches file hashes or byte sequences against a known database of malicious code. This provides definitive, automated evidence of a security incident with minimal false positives, unlike subjective or ambiguous observations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A network administrator notices unusual traffic patterns.
Why it's wrong here
Not conclusive; may be benign.
- ✗
An employee reports slow computer performance.
Why it's wrong here
Could be due to many non-malicious causes.
- ✗
A vendor sends a vulnerability disclosure.
Why it's wrong here
Indicates a potential risk, not a current incident.
- ✓
Antivirus software detects a known malware signature.
Why this is correct
Direct evidence of malware infection.
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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.