CISM Information Security Programme Practice Question
In a third-party risk management programme, what is the primary purpose of vendor tiering?
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
✓
To prioritize which vendors require more rigorous security assessments
Vendor tiering categorizes vendors based on the criticality of services and data access to determine the appropriate level of due diligence and monitoring. This ensures resources are focused on high-risk vendors.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To assign responsibility for vendor management to different teams
Why it's wrong here
Responsibility assignment may follow tiering, but it's not the primary purpose.
- ✓
To prioritize which vendors require more rigorous security assessments
Why this is correct
High-risk vendors get more scrutiny; low-risk may have lighter processes.
- ✗
To ensure all vendors receive the same level of oversight
Why it's wrong here
Oversight should be risk-based, not uniform.
- ✗
To determine the vendor's pricing structure
Why it's wrong here
Pricing is a procurement matter, not security tiering.
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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.