The answer is isolating affected systems, disabling compromised accounts, and preserving forensic evidence. These three actions are essential steps in incident containment because they immediately stop the spread of an attack while securing the integrity of data needed for legal or internal review. Isolating systems prevents lateral movement, disabling accounts cuts off attacker access, and preserving evidence ensures that logs and memory snapshots remain admissible and unaltered. On the Certified Information Security Manager CISM exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish containment from later phases like investigation or notification. A common trap is confusing root cause analysis—which belongs to the investigation phase—with containment, or thinking that notifying regulators is an immediate step when it actually occurs post-containment. To remember the three essentials, use the mnemonic “ICE”: Isolate, Compromise accounts (disable), and Evidence preserve.
CISM Incident Management Practice Question
This CISM practice question tests your understanding of incident management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which THREE are essential steps in incident containment? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Disable compromised accounts
Isolating affected systems, disabling compromised accounts, and preserving forensic evidence are critical containment steps. Root cause analysis is part of investigation, and notifying regulators is a post-containment step.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Root cause analysis
Why it's wrong here
Root cause analysis is performed during the investigation phase, not containment.
✗
Notify external regulators
Why it's wrong here
Notification to regulators occurs after containment and is part of the communication and compliance process.
✓
Disable compromised accounts
Why this is correct
Disabling accounts stops attacker access through valid credentials.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Isolate affected systems
Why this is correct
Isolation prevents the incident from spreading to other systems.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Preserve forensic evidence
Why this is correct
Preserving evidence ensures that data is not lost or altered for later analysis.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CISM exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which CISM exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Incident Management — This question tests Incident Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Disable compromised accounts — Isolating affected systems, disabling compromised accounts, and preserving forensic evidence are critical containment steps. Root cause analysis is part of investigation, and notifying regulators is a post-containment step.
What should I do if I get this CISM question wrong?
Identify which CISM exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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