CISM Primary purpose of risk assessment Practice Question
Which of the following is the PRIMARY purpose of an information security risk assessment?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the purpose of a risk assessment with the purpose of risk treatment or compliance, leading them to select 'comply with regulatory requirements' as the primary purpose, when in fact compliance is a secondary benefit, not the core objective.
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 identify and evaluate risks in terms of likelihood and impact
The primary purpose of an information security risk assessment is to identify and evaluate risks in terms of their likelihood and impact. This process enables an organization to prioritize risks and determine appropriate risk treatment options, such as mitigation, transfer, acceptance, or avoidance, based on a clear understanding of the risk landscape. Without this evaluation, any subsequent risk management decisions would lack a defensible basis.
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 eliminate all identified risks
Why it's wrong here
Risk assessment cannot eliminate risks; it identifies and evaluates them so that treatment options such as mitigation, transfer, avoidance or acceptance can be chosen. Elimination is tempting as an ideal outcome, yet residual risk always remains and acceptance is a legitimate management decision.
- ✓
To identify and evaluate risks in terms of likelihood and impact
Why this is correct
Identifying and evaluating risks by likelihood and impact is the core mechanism of risk assessment, producing the prioritised risk picture that drives subsequent treatment decisions. This directly satisfies the stem's demand for the primary purpose, since assessment precedes mitigation; auditing, control implementation and monitoring are separate downstream activities.
- ✗
To comply with regulatory requirements
Why it's wrong here
Compliance may be an outcome or driver, but the primary purpose is informing risk-based decisions about protecting information assets. It appeals because regulators mandate assessments, yet an assessment performed solely for compliance can miss risks outside the regulatory scope that still threaten the organisation.
- ✗
To assign blame for security incidents
Why it's wrong here
Risk assessment identifies, analyses and prioritises risks so management can treat them; attribution of fault is an incident-response or HR concern. It may appear relevant because incidents reveal risks, but assigning blame neither quantifies likelihood and impact nor informs risk treatment decisions.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CISM exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓To identify and evaluate risks in terms of likelihood and impactCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Identifying and evaluating risks by likelihood and impact is the core mechanism of risk assessment, producing the prioritised risk picture that drives subsequent treatment decisions. This directly satisfies the stem's demand for the primary purpose, since assessment precedes mitigation; auditing, control implementation and monitoring are separate downstream activities.
✗To eliminate all identified risksWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Eliminating all risks is impractical and not the primary purpose; risk assessment informs risk treatment decisions.
✗To comply with regulatory requirementsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Compliance may be a driver but is not the primary purpose; the core is informed decision-making.
✗To assign blame for security incidentsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Risk assessment is proactive, not punitive.
Analysis generated from the official CISMblueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
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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.